The Malayan Emergency is a state of emergency declared by the British colonial government of Malaya in 1948 and lifted in 1960, as well as an insurrection and guerrilla war fought between government forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army around the same period.

The state of emergency entails the revocation of many civil rights, the granting of special powers to the police, and other measures aimed at the suppression of left wing political movements, especially the Malayan Communist Party (MCP).

The guerrilla war, which is also known as the Malayan War, is part of the ongoing conflict between the MCP and other leftists, and the colonial establishment, starting shortly after the Japanese withdrawal in 1945 and extending at least to the signing of the peace treaty between the communists and the government of Malaya in 1989.

The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) is the military arm of the MCP.

The MNLA is formed shortly after the Emergency was declared in 1948.