Erik Gustavovich Laxmann (July 27, 1737 – January 6, 1796) is a Finnish-Swedish clergyman, explorer and natural scientist born in Nyslott in Finland, at that time part of Sweden.

He is remembered today for his taxonomic work on the fauna of Siberia and for his attempts to establish relations between Imperial Russia and Tokugawa Japan.

In 1757, Laxmann starts his studies at the Academy of Åbo and is subsequently ordained a priest in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia.

In 1764, he is appointed as a preacher in a small parish in Barnaul in central Siberia, whence he undertakes a number of exploratory journeys, reaching Irkutsk, Baikal, Kiakhta and the border to China.

His collection of material on the fauna of Siberia makes him famous in scientific circles and in 1770, he is appointed professor of chemistry and economy at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In 1769, Laxmann had been elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.