Holden Caulfield is the fictional teenaged protagonist in J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, first published in 1951. Holden is the brother of Phoebe, D. B. and Allie Caulfield, though Allie is dead in the time of the story. Holden's parents are unnamed.

In the book, Caulfield is 17 years old and residing in a psychiatric hospital in the state of California. He narrates the story of the novel, which had occurred over several days during the previous year, as a first-person narrative flashback. During the course of the novel, Caulfield fights with his roommate, flunks out of the fictional Pencey Preparatory School in Pennsylvania (said to be based on the Valley Forge Military Academy, which Salinger attended), and travels by himself to New York City, where he undergoes several experiences that cause him to become disillusioned with life and which lead him to the hospital.

Given the assumed date the novel is set, the character of Holden would have been born in approximately 1933.

Physically, Holden is gangly and tall. Though he looks a little older than he actually is, even having some gray hairs, he often acts immaturely and capriciously. Holden has a certain disdain for what he sees as "phony."

Holden Caulfield is one of the most enduring characters in 20th century American fiction, and one with which many teenagers and adults have identified - most tragically (albeit irrationally), perhaps, in the case of Mark David Chapman, the murderer of John Lennon.

The Catcher in the Rye is required reading in many high school English courses today.