An acharya is a prominent guru, teacher and scholar who teaches by his own example (from Sanskrit 'achara', behavior). Often head of a sampradaya, philosophical school in the Indian tradition.

Among the famous acharyas in the Vedic tradition are Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva and Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Among the Jain Acharyas, Sthulabhadra, Haribhadra and Hemachandra belonged to Svetambar orders, and Kundakunda, Akalanka, Jinasena, Nemichandra belonged the Digambar order. Modern Jain Acharyas include Digambar Vidyasagar, Vidyanand and Svetambar Mahaprajna, Sushil Kumar, Padma Sagar Suri. In Jainism, an Acharya is one of the five revered panch-paremeshtis.