The North Aegean islands are a number of disconnected islands in the north Aegean Sea, also known as the Northeast Aegean islands, belonging to Greece and Turkey. The islands do not form a physical chain or group, but are frequently grouped together for tourist or administrative purposes. To the south are the Dodecanese islands; and to the west are the Cyclades and Sporades islands.

Within this group, the main islands along the Turkish coast are the Greek islands of Samos and Ikaria, Chios, Lesbos and Lemnos, and the Turkish islands of Imbros (also known as Gokceada), Tenedos or Bozcaada and the Rabbit Islands. The main islands in the Thracian Sea in the far north are the Greek islands of Samothrace and Thasos.

From the Mesolithic Age, the North Aegean, as indeed the entire Aegean, ceased to be an obstacle and became a bridge joining the inhabitants of the region. Shipping, trade, economy, culture and social interactions developed in the archipelago and surrounding areas on the basis of communication and contact between the inhabitants. This was especially true after the permanent settlement of the islands 5000 years BC.

The Aegean Islands (Greek: Νησιά Αιγαίου, transliterated: Nisiá Aigaíou; Turkish: Ege Adaları) are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast. The ancient Greek name of the Aegean Sea, Archipelago (ἀρχιπέλαγος) was later applied to the islands it contains and is now used more generally, to refer to any island group.

The Aegean Islands belong to Greece, being split among nine administrative peripheries. The only sizable possessions of Turkey in the Aegean Sea are Imbros (Gökçeada) and Tenedos (Bozcaada), in the northeastern end of the Sea. Turkish islands also include various smaller islets off Turkey's western coast.

The Aegean Islands are traditionally subdivided into seven groups, from north to south:

The term Italian Aegean Islands (Italian: Isole Italiane dell-’Egeo) is sometimes used to refer to the Aegean islands conquered by Italy during the Italo-Turkish War in 1912 and annexed (through the Treaty of Lausanne) from 1923 until 1947: the Dodecanese, including Rhodes and Kastelorizo.

The North Aegean (Greek: Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece. It comprises the islands of the north-eastern Aegean Sea, except for Samothrace, which belongs to the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, and Imbros and Tenedos which belong to Turkey.

The North Aegean region was established in the 1987 administrative reform. With the 2010 Kallikratis plan, its powers and authority were redefined and extended. Along with the South Aegean, it is supervised by the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean based at Piraeus. The capital of the region is situated in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos.

Until the Kallikratis reform, the region consisted of the three prefectures of Samos, Chios and Lesbos. Since 1 January 2011 it is divided into 5 regional units, formed around major islands:Chios, Ikaria, Lemnos, Lesbos and Samos.

The region's governor is, since 1 January 2011, Athanasios (Nasos) Giakalis, who was elected in the November 2010 local administration elections for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement.