Iranian studies (Persian: ايران‌شناسی‎ - Īrānšenāsī), is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of history, literature, art and culture of the Iranian people. It is a part of the wider field of Oriental studies.

Iranian studies is broader than and distinct from Persian studies, which is the study of the modern Persian language (known as "Farsi" or "Parsi" to the natives) and literature specifically. The discipline of Iranian Studies focuses on broad trends in culture, history, language and other aspects of only Persians, but not a variety of other contemporary and historical Iranic peoples, such as Baluchis, Kurds, Pashtuns, Ossetians, Scythians, Parthians, Sogdians, Bactrians, etc.

Ferdowsi, a Persian poet and thinker, is known as the founder of Iranian Studies^{[citation needed]}. In his masterpiece Shahnameh, he tried extensively to address Persian culture, literature, art, history and anthropology^{[citation needed]}.

In the ninth century, the Persian historian Jarir e Tabari made a distinct contribution to Iranian Studies^{[citation needed]} with his book entitled History of the Prophets and Kings, which covers historical events till 915 AD. Tarikh-e Mas'oudi, by the Persian historian and author Abolfazl Beyhaghi (995-1077), is one of the most creditable sources about the Ghaznavid Empire, and his fluent prose style has made the book considerable in Persian literature, too.