The Salian Franks were a subgroup of the Franks. They are distinguished from the Ripuarian Franks (riparuian means river while salian means 'salty', i.e. associated with the sea).

The name Salian is derived from the name the Romans gave to a river in The Netherlands: Isala, a branch of the Rhine, currently named IJssel (or Gelderse IJssel) in Dutch. In the third century A.D., the Romans named the Germanic tribe living in this area after this river. Even nowadays, this area is called Salland.

From this area, the Salian Franks occupied the Rhine delta in the 4th and the 5th century A.D. and moved further south, with the Belgian city of Tournai (Doornik in Dutch) becoming the center of their area. Later still, they moved more south and gained control over France, which thanks its current name after them.

The Salian Franks formed, with the Nether-Saxons and the Frisians, the foundation for early Dutch culture and society.

The adjective Salian as applied to the Frankish people is the origin of the name of the Salic Law.