| Toshio Ōta | |
| Native Name: | 太田 敏夫 |
| Native Name Lang: | jpn |
| Birth Date: | 1919 3, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Nagasaki, Japan |
| Death Place: | Guadalcanal |
| Allegiance: |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch: | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) |
| Rank: | Petty Officer First Class |
| Unit: | Tainan Air Group |
| Battles: | Second World War, Pacific War |
was a World War II Japanese fighter ace. In early 1942, at the age of 22, he flew a Mitsubishi A6M Zero with the Lae-based Tainan Air Group. There the young petty officer, 1st class became one of the so-called "Clean-up Trio" of Japanese aces, along with his squadron mates Saburo Sakai and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa.
Ōta's first confirmed kill, of a U.S. Army Air Force P-40E Warhawk, was over New Guinea on April 11, 1942. Transferred to Rabaul in August, Ōta was killed in a dogfight with U.S. Marine Corps Grumman F4F Wildcats over Guadalcanal on October 21, shortly after shooting down a Wildcat himself. His victorious opponent is believed to be 1st Lt. Frank C. Drury of VMF-212. Ōta is credited with 34 victories, making him the Imperial Japanese Navy's fourth-ranking ace.
In his autobiography, Sakai described Ōta as outgoing and amiable, in contrast to the more reserved Nishizawa, and said he would have been "more at home in a nightclub" than in Lae.
