| Post: | Chief |
| Body: | the Defence Staff |
| Native Name: | Capo di stato maggiore della difesa |
| Flag: | Flag of the chief of staff of defence of Italy.svg |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Incumbent: | Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone |
| Incumbentsince: | 19 October 2021 |
| Department: | Ministry of Defence |
| Reports To: | Minister of Defence |
| Nominator: | Minister of Defence |
| Appointer: | President of Italy |
| Constituting Instrument: | Decree 66, articles 25, 26 & 27 |
| Formation: | 4 May 1925 |
| First: | Pietro Badoglio |
The Chief of the Defence Staff of Italy is the service head of the Italian Armed Forces.
The current Chief of the Defence staff is Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.
The post was established in 1925 as Chief of the General Staff (Capo di Stato Maggiore Generale). From 1941 until 1945, it was Capo del Comando Supremo. In 1947 it assumed its present name.
The Chief of the Defense staff, since 1998, to exercise his duties, uses two joint bodies: