The Electorate of Bavaria (German: Kurfürstentum Bayern) is an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it is succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria.The Wittelsbach dynasty that rules the Duchy of Bavaria is the younger branch of the family that also rules the Electorate of the Palatinate.

The head of the elder branch is one of the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire according to the Golden Bull of 1356, but Bavaria is excluded from the electoral dignity.

In 1621, the Elector Palatine Frederick V is put under the imperial ban for his role in the Bohemian Revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II, and the electoral dignity and territory of the Upper Palatinate is conferred upon his loyal cousin, Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria.

Although the Peace of Westphalia create sa new electoral title for Frederick V's son, with the exception of a brief period during the War of the Spanish Succession, Maximilian's descendants continue to hold the original electoral dignity until the extinction of his line in 1777.

At this point, the two lines are joined in personal union until the end of the Holy Roman Empire.

After the Peace of Pressburg in 1805, the then-elector, Maximilian Joseph, raises himself to the dignity of King of Bavaria on January 1, 1806, and the Holy Roman Empire is abolished in this year.