Martin Heinrich Carl Lichtenstein (January 10, 1780 - September 2, 1857) was a German physician, explorer and zoologist.

Lichtenstein was born in Hamburg and studied medicine at Jena and Helmstädt . Between 1802 and 1806 he travelled in southern Africa, becoming the personal physician of the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1810 he published Reisen in südlichen Africa. He was awarded the Chair of Zoology at the University of Berlin in 1811, and appointed Director of the Berlin Zoological Museum in 1813.

In 1841 Lichtenstein was responsible for the creation of Berlin's Zoological Gardens, when he persuaded Friedrich Wilhelm IV to donate the grounds of his pheasantry.