The shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus ("sharp nose"), is a large mackerel shark. Along with the closely related longfin mako (Isurus paucus) it is commonly referred to as a "mako shark".

In 1809, Constantine Rafinesque first described shortfin mako and coined the name Isurus oxyrinchus (Isurus means "the same tail", oxyrinchus means "pointy snout"). "Mako" comes from the Māori language, meaning either the shark or a shark tooth. It may have originated in a dialectal variation as it is similar to the common words for shark in a number of Polynesian languages—makō in the Kāi Tahu Māori dialect,mangō in other Māori dialects, "mago" in Samoan, ma'o in Tahitian, and mano in Hawaiian. The first written usage is in Lee & Kendall's Grammar and vocabulary of the language of New Zealand (1820), which simply states "Máko; A certain fish".Richard Taylor's A leaf from the natural history of New Zealand (1848) is more elaborate: "Mako, the shark which has the tooth so highly prized by the Maoris".

Isurus is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. There are two living species, the common shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) and the rare longfin mako shark (Isurus paucus), and several extinct species known from fossils. They range in length from 9 to 15 feet, and have an approximate maximum weight of 1,750 lbs. The Lamnidae family also includes sharks such as the great white shark and porbeagle. The Mako shark is capable of swimming up to 40mph and jumping up to 24 ft. in the air.

The genus contains two living species:

Fossil species include I. hastalis, I. retroflexus, I. desori, I. escheri, and I. planus.