Kateb Yacine (1929 - 1989) was an Algerian writer.

He moved to Paris in 1945 and travelled throughout Europe and Asia. Perhaps his best-known work is the novel Nedjma (1957), which deals with four men in love with one woman. His other works include the novel La Polygone Étoile (1966), the poetry collection Soliloquies (1946) and the play anthologies Le cercle des représailles (1959) and L'Homme aux sandales de caoutchouc (1970).

Yacine's work was often concerned with contemporary politics. His early plays criticising French colonialism were banned, and L'Homme aux sandales de caoutchouc, which celebrates Ho Chi Minh was also very controversial.