火力发电厂（简称火电厂）或称化石燃料发电厂，是通过燃烧诸如煤、天然气及石油等来发电的发电厂，被设计成可以持续地大量发电，在许多国家，大部分电能均由火力发电厂提供。

火力发电厂（除了磁流体发电机）通过各种旋转机械将燃烧产生的热能转换为机械能，然后驱动发电机。原动机通常是蒸汽机或燃气轮机，在一些较小的电站，也有可能会使用内燃机。他们都是通过利用高温、高压蒸汽或燃气通过透平变为低压空气或冷凝水这一过程中的压降来发电的。

火电站发电带来许多其他副产物，并产生诸多的环境影响。根据卡诺循环的原理，总有一部分废弃热要通过冷却塔排放到大气，或被自然江河等水体冷却。化石燃料燃烧后的烟道气会被排放到大气，其主要成分是二氧化碳、水蒸气、以及其他的一些成分比如氮气、氮氧化物、氧化硫等，如果是煤发电厂，还会有粉煤灰、汞等。煤燃烧后的残渣也必须从锅炉中排除，有些可以用来回收制作建筑材料。

A fossil-fuel power station is a power station which burns fossil fuel such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation. In many countries, such plants provide most of the electrical energy used. Fossil-fuel power stations have machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy, which then operates an electrical generator. The prime mover may be a steam turbine, a gas turbine or, in small plants, a reciprocating internal combustion engine. All plants use the energy extracted from expanding gas, either steam or combustion gases. Very few MHD generators have been built which directly convert the energy of moving hot gas into electricity.