Apostolic poverty is a doctrine professed by various religious orders, primarily those sprung from the mendicant orders of the Middle Ages in direct response to the call for reforms in the Roman Catholic Church.

The doctrine was seen as a challenge to the wealth of the church and the ensuing corruption it brought. Francis of Assisi formed the Franciscans to emulate the poverty of Jesus Christ and to bring his message through a simple life and example. Dominic de Guzman founded a similar order known as the Dominicans.

Some practitioners of this doctrine, most notably William of Ockham, came under heretical investigation or excommunication by the Church.