Chitra (चित्र, feminine चित्रा) is a Sanskrit adjective meaning "excellent, distinguished; bright, bright-coloured". As a noun, it may refer to:
- Chitrai, the Tamil name of Spica
- in Hindu astrology, the corresponding nakshatra (lunar mansion).
- a common Hindu given name for girls born under said nakshatra
- Chitra is a major nadi mentioned in Shiva Samhita containing Brahmarandhra (ब्रह्मरन्ध्रं, "door to Brahm", see Sahasrara)
- The following people carry the name Chitra:
- K. S. Chithra, an Indian playback singer
- Chitra Bahadur K.C. is a Nepalese politician
- Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, an Indian-American author, poet, and professor of English
- Chitra Bharucha, a former Consultant Haematologist and Vice Chair of the BBC Trust
- Chitra Ganesh, an artist based in Brooklyn, New York
- Chitra Lekha Yadav is a Nepalese politician
- Chitra Mudgal, a leading literary figure in modern Hindi literature
- Chitra Singh, a female ghazal singer
- Chitra K. Soman, an Indian sprinter
- Chitra Subramaniam, an Indian journalist
- Chitra Visweswaran a classical dancer
- Chitra is the title of a book which is a collection of poems written by the Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore
- Amar Chitra Katha, one of India's largest selling comic book series
- Chitra Bharti Kathamala, a popular Indian Comic publication during the early 80s
- Chitra (genus), a turtle genus
- Chitra indica, a narrow-headed soft-shelled turtle
- Chitra chitra, a striped narrow-headed softshell turtle
- Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
- Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, India
- Chitra is a river in the Narail District of southwestern Bangladesh
- Chitrakar, "One who paints" (chitra means a painting)