The Northern Yuan dynasty, or simply the Northern Yuan, is a Mongol régime based in the Mongolian homeland.

It operates after the fall of the Yuan dynasty in China in 1368 and lasts until the emergence of the Qing dynasty (founded by the Manchus) in the seventeenth century.

The Northern Yuan dynasty begins with the end of Mongol rule in China and the retreat of the Mongols to the Mongolian steppe.

This period features factional struggles and the (often only nominal) role of the Great Khan.

Dayan Khan and Mandukhai Khatun reunite the entire Mongol nation in the fifteenth century.

However, the former's distribution of his empire among his sons and relatives as fiefs causes the decentralization of the imperial rule.[

Despite this decentralization, a remarkable concord continues within the Dayan Khanid aristocracy, and intra-Chinggisid civil war remains unknown until the reign of Ligdan Khan (1604–34), who sees much of his power weakened in his quarrels with the Mongol tribes and is defeated by the Manchus.

The last sixty years of this period feature the intensive penetration of Tibetan Buddhism into Mongolian society.