Malaysian Chinese

Malaysian Chinese or Chinese Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Chinese ethnicity. They form the second-largest ethnic group in Malaysia, after the Malay-majority, and as of 2020, constituted 23.2% of the country's citizens or close to 7 million. In addition, Malaysian Chinese make up the second-largest community of overseas Chinese in the world, following the Thai Chinese in neighbouring Thailand. Prior to 1963, the ethnic Chinese community were often referred to as the Malayan Chinese. As with most Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, they have maintained a significant and substantial presence in the economy of the modern-day country for at least two centuries since the era of British Malaya.

Most Malaysian Chinese are descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants who arrived in Malaysia between the early 19th and the mid-20th centuries before the country attained independence from British colonial rule. The majority originate from Fujian or the Lingnan region (modern-day Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan). They belong to diverse linguistic subgroups speaking Chinese such as the Hokkien and Fuzhou from Fujian, the Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka from Guangdong, the Hainanese from Hainan and Kwongsai from Guangxi. An earlier wave of Chinese migrants, arriving between the 13th and 17th centuries, assimilated significant aspects of indigenous Malay culture and customs to forge distinct identities. These groups include the Peranakans (or Baba–Nyonya) of Kelantan, Malacca, Penang and Terengganu and the Sino-Natives of Sabah. Characterised by a high degree of intermarriage with native populations, these communities has preserved unique culture and traditions that distinguish them from the broader Malaysian Chinese population.

Most Malaysian Chinese have maintained their Chinese heritage, identity, culture and language. The Malay-majority government do not classify them as part of the bumiputera, a preferential status in the country. Various socioeconomic factors, including divergent fertility rates, migration trends and shifting policy dynamics, have led to a gradual decline in the Chinese population's relative share since 1957.