Quechua people (, US also ; Spanish: [ˈketʃwa]) or Quichua people, may refer to any of the aboriginal people of South America who speak the Quechua languages, which originated among the Indigenous people of Peru. Although most Quechua speakers are native to Peru, there are some significant populations in Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina.

The most common Quechua dialect is Southern Quechua. The Kichwa people of Ecuador speak the Kichwa dialect; in Colombia, the Inga people speak Inga Kichwa.

The Quechua word for a Quechua speaker is runa or nuna ("person"); the plural is runakuna or nunakuna ("people"). "Quechua speakers call themselves Runa -- simply translated, 'the people.'"

Some historical Quechua people are:

• The Chanka people, who lived in the Huancavelica, Ayacucho, and Apurímac regions of Peru.
• The Huanca people of the Junín Region of Peru, who spoke Quechua before the Incas did.
• The Inca, who established the largest empire of the pre-Columbian era.
• The Chincha, an extinct merchant kingdom of the Ica Region of Peru.
• The Qolla who inhabited the Potosí, Oruro, and La Paz departments of Bolivia.
• The Cañari of Ecuador, who adopted the Quechua language from the Inca.