| Election Name: | 1972 Missouri gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Missouri |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1968 Missouri gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1968 |
| Next Election: | 1976 Missouri gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1976 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1972 |
| Image1: | File:Portrait of Christopher S Bond.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Kit Bond |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,029,451 |
| Percentage1: | 55.2% |
| Nominee2: | Edward L. Dowd |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 832,751 |
| Percentage2: | 44.6% |
| Map Size: | 270px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Warren E. Hearnes |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Kit Bond |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1972 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972 in the U.S state of Missouri and resulted in a victory for the Republican nominee for the first time since 1940 incumbent State Auditor of Missouri Kit Bond, over the Democratic nominee, Edward L. Dowd, and Nonpartisan Paul J. Leonard. Joseph P. Teasdale was a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination, before winning the nomination in the 1976 election, as was lieutenant governor William S. Morris, while Gene McNary was a candidate for the Republican nomination.