| Thornton | |
| Motto: | A coastal area, a coastal family. Thornton School.~Shelly Bremner |
| Pushpin Map: | New Zealand |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Coordinates: | -37.9222°N 176.8667°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  New Zealand |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Bay of Plenty |
| Subdivision Type2: | Territorial authority |
| Subdivision Name2: | Whakatāne District |
| Subdivision Type3: | Ward |
| Subdivision Name3: | Rangitāiki |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
Thornton is a settlement in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. Thornton is located west of Whakatāne, and is on the true right of the Rangitaiki River.
In 1911 the Rangitaiki River was put into a straight channel at the current site of Thornton, which enabled draining the Rangitaiki Plains and converting this swamp land into dairy country.[1]
Thornton School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[2] with a roll of as of .[3]