Li Daoyuan (Chinese: 酈道元; pinyin: Lí Dào Yuán, born 469AD or 427AD in Zhuo County, Fanyang, Hebei Province, died 527AD) was a Chinese geographer during the times of the Northern Wei Dynasty. He is known as the author of the Commentary to the River Classic (Shui Jing Zhu).
Li Daoyuan used his position as an official with business in different places to carry field investigations. He is known to have visited the area belonging to the present-day Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, and Jiangsu provinces.
Another source for his knowledge was the study of ancient geographical books he had access to, like the Mountain and Sea Classics (Shan Hai Jing, completed by the time of the Qin Dynasty or early Western Han Dynasty) and the Waterways Classic (Shui Jing), written by Sang Qin during the Three Kingdoms Period) and commentated later by Guo Pu (郭璞). Li vastly expanded the Waterways Classic, doing his own research and fieldwork. The original Waterways Classic, which has not survived, covered 127 rivers and streams and contains about 10,000 characters; Li Daoyuan's Commentary on the Waterways Classic (Shui Jing Zhu, discusses 1252 watercourses and contains about 300,000 characters in total. The book maps and describes the rivers and streams along with the history, geography and culture of the surrounding region.