| Election Name: | 1988 Kensington by-election |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Seats For Election: | Constituency of Kensington |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1987 United Kingdom general election |
| Previous Year: | 1987 |
| Election Date: | 14 July 1988 |
| Candidate1: | Dudley Fishburn |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote1: | 9,829 |
| Percentage1: | 41.59% |
| Swing1: | 5.9% |
| Candidate2: | Patricia Holmes |
| Party2: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote2: | 9,014 |
| Percentage2: | 38.14% |
| Swing2: | 4.9% |
| Candidate4: | William Goodhart |
| Image4: | SLD |
| Party4: | Social and Liberal Democrats |
| Popular Vote4: | 2,546 |
| Percentage4: | 10.77% |
| Swing4: | 6.5% |
| Candidate5: | John Martin |
| Image5: | SDP |
| Party5: | Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988) |
| Popular Vote5: | 1,190 |
| Percentage5: | 5.04% |
| MP | |
| Posttitle: | Subsequent MP |
| Before Election: | Brandon Rhys-Williams |
| Before Party: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| After Election: | Dudley Fishburn |
| After Party: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Turnout: | 51.6% (13.1%) |
| Next Election: | 1992 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
The Kensington by-election, in Kensington, on 14 July 1988 was held after the death of Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Brandon Rhys-Williams. Normally a relatively safe Conservative seat, it was narrowly won by Dudley Fishburn, who would retain the seat in 1992.
It was the first by-election of that parliament, which had begun after the general election of June 1987, and would last until the next election in April 1992.
The results for the previous election were: