《老子》，又称《道德经》、《道德真经》、《老子五千文》及《五千言》，为思想家老子的著作，中国春秋战国时期道家学派奉为创始典籍，有学者认为是中国历史上首部完整的哲学著作。古书多无大题，据学者考证，《老子》作为书名可能始于韩非子〈解老〉〈喻老〉两篇或更早之前，汉景帝时尊《老子》为经，称《道德经》可能始于王弼、皇甫谧生活的魏晋时期。

“老子所着言道德之意的上下篇”，据帛书本为上篇《德经》、下篇《道经》，传世本为《道经》在前，《德经》在后。《德经》在前是谓先修自身心意；《道经》是谓以身心精进，在体悟道之所传。至唐代，唐太宗自认是老子李耳之后，并曾令人将《道德经》翻译为梵文。唐高宗尊《道德经》与《孝经》并为上经。唐玄宗时，更尊此经为《道德真经》。

The Tao Te Ching, Daodejing, Dao De Jing, or Daode jing (simplified Chinese:道德经; traditional Chinese:道德经; pinyin:Dàodéjīng), also simply referred to as the Laozi (Chinese:老子; pinyin:Lǎozǐ), is a Chinese classic text. According to tradition, it was written around 6th century BC by the sage Laozi (or Lao Tzu, Chinese:老子; pinyin:Lǎozǐ, literally meaning "Old Master"), a record-keeper at the Zhou dynasty court, by whose name the text is known in China. The text's true authorship and date of composition or compilation are still debated, although the oldest excavated text dates back to the late 4th century BC.