Hama Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة حماه‎ / ALA-LC: Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria. Its area depends of sources. It varies from 8,844 km² to 8,883 km². Governorate has a population of 1,593,000 (2010 estimate). The capital is Hama.

Hama is an important agricultural and industrial center in Syria, with 3,680 square kilometres (1,420 sq mi), over a third of the governorate's area, under cultivation. The governorate produces over half of the national crop of potatoes and pistachio nuts, as well as growing a variety of other vegetables. Livestock ranching is also common in the governorate.

The governorate is divided into 5 districts (manatiq):

These are further divided into ? sub-districts (nawahi).

Hama (Arabic: حماة‎ Ḥamāh [ħaˈmaː], Biblical Ḥamāth, ("Fortress") is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 312,994 (2004 census), Hama is the fifth-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Latakia. The modern city is built on the site of the ancient city of Hamath ( /ˈheɪ.mʌθ/).

The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show.

In the last decades, the city of Hama has become known as a center of the anti-Ba'ath opposition in Syria, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. The city was raided by the Syrian Army, beginning with the 1964 Islamic uprising, and becoming the scene of carnage during the Islamic uprising in Syria in April 1981 and especially in 1982, when some 25,000 people were killed in what became known as Hama massacre. The city was once again besieged by the Syrian military, as one of the main arenas of the 2011 uprising.

The Syrian uprising is an ongoing, violent internal conflict in Syria. It is part of the wider Arab Spring, a wave of upheaval throughout the Arab world. Public demonstrations across Syria began on 26 January 2011 and developed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, the overthrow of his government, and an end to nearly five decades of Ba’ath Party rule.

Since spring 2011, the Syrian government has deployed the Syrian Army to quell the uprising. Several cities have been besieged, but nevertheless the unrest continues. According to witnesses, soldiers who refused to open fire on civilians were summarily executed by the Syrian Army. The Syrian government denied reports of defections, and blamed "armed gangs" for causing trouble. Since early autumn 2011, civilians and army defectors began forming fighting units, which began an insurgency campaign against the Syrian Army. The insurgents unified under the banner of the Free Syrian Army and fought in an increasingly organized fashion; however, the civilian component of the armed opposition lacks an organized leadership.