The Vilayet of Syria, also known as Vilayet of Damascus, is a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, it reportedly has an area of 62,180 square kilometers (24,009 square miles), while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) give the population as one million

The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.
In 1864, the Vilayet Law was promulgated.

The new provincial law is implemented in Damascus in 1865, and the reformed province is named Suriyya/Suriye, reflecting a growing historical consciousness among the local intellectuals.

Jerusalem is separated from the rest of the province, and made into an independent sanjak of Jerusalem that reports directly to Istanbul, rather than Damascus.

Mount Lebanon had been similarly made into a self-governing mutesarrifate in 1864.

In 1872, a new administrative region is created, with its center in Ma'an, but the costs for the new administrative unit far outweigh the revenues, and it is closed the following year.

In 1884, the governor of Damascus makes a proposal to establish a new vilayet of southern Syria, though nothing comes out of this.

In 1888, a vilayet of Beirut is formed from the vilayet of Syria.

In May 1892, another proposal is made for a regional government centered in Ma'an, which is approved in August.

In mid-1895, the centrer of this mutasarrifiyya is moved to Karak (Mutasarrifate of Karak), marking the southernmost extent of Ottoman rule in the vilayet of Syria.

As of 1897, the Vilayet Syria is divided into four sanjaks: Damascus, Hama, Hauran and Karak.

The Vilayet's capital is Damascus.