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The Dwarves of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth are beings of short stature, often friendly with Hobbits although long suspicious of Elves. They are typically blacksmiths and stoneworkers by profession, unrivaled in some of their arts even by the Elves. For Dwarves in other legends and fantasy works see: Dwarf.

The enduring popularity of Tolkien's books, especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, has led to the popular use of the term dwarves to describe this race in fantasy literature. Before Tolkien, the term dwarfs (with a different spelling) was used, as seen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In fact, the latter spelling was so common that the original editor of The Lord of the Rings "corrected" Tolkien's dwarves to dwarfs ( The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, 138).

According to Tolkien, the "real 'historical'" plural of dwarf is dwarrows or dwerrows. He once referred to dwarves as "a piece of private bad grammar" ( Letters, 17), but in Appendix F to The Lord of the Rings he explains that if we still spoke of dwarves regularly, English might have retained a special plural for the word dwarf as with man. The form dwarrow only appears in the word Dwarrowdelf, a name for Moria. Tolkien used Dwarves, instead, which corresponds with Elf and Elves, making its meaning more apparent. The use of a different term also serves to set Tolkien's Dwarves apart from the similarly-named creatures in mythology and fairy-tales.

Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not counted among the Children of Ilúvatar. They were created by AulëAul is a fictional character from J. Tolkien's legendarium. Aule the Smith (from Valarin Aulez the second character is a yogh) is a Vala, Smith of the Powers and concerned with rock and metal. During the creation of Arda, Aule was most involved in buildin the Smith. They were kept asleep until the creation of the Elves. Aulë created the Seven Fathers of the DwarvesIn the Norse Mythology and in J. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race. It is told in The Silmarillion that the Vala Aule created the Dwarves because he was impatient for the arising of, from whom all other Dwarves are descended. Aulë later repented and confessed to Ilúvatar. Ilúvatar granted the Dwarves life, and therefore they are known as the Adopted Children of Ilúvatar.

Most Dwarves mentioned in Tolkien's works are of Durin's folkTolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Durin's folk is the most important folk of Dwarves. Durin's folk were by right the inhabitants of Khazad-dum, also called the Longbeards''. Their first King was Durin the Deathless. The Dwarves of Durin's folk, the clan founded by DurinIn Norse mythology, Durin was the first of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves. The character appears in J. Tolkien's universe, Middle-earth. Durin the Deathless In Tolkien's mythology, King Durin I of Khazad-dum better known as "Durin the Deathless", was th, called the Longbeards. (A notable exception are the inhabitants of the dwarf-cities of NogrodTolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Nogrod was one of two Dwarven cities in the Ered Luin. Nogrod lay in the middle of the mountain range, near Mount Dolmed where the Dwarf-road of Beleriand crossed into Eriador. It was home to the Dwarven House and BelegostTolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Belegost was one of two Dwarven cities in the Ered Luin. Its name in Westron was Mickleburg . Belegost lay in the southern part of the mountain range, and was home to the Dwarven House known as the Broadbeams' in the Blue MountainsThe Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, also known as Ered Lindon is the mountain range at the far west of Eriador, in J. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth. During the First Age, the Ered Luin was an unbroken line separating Eriador from Beleriand. Seven, spoken of in The Silmarillion).

They mined and worked precious metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. In many ways, they were in between the Elves and Men. They were not immortal, but lived to two hundred and fifty years or more. They were generally less corruptible than Men, but committed their share of rash and greedy acts. (Among these are the slaying of Thingol and the dispute over the Arkenstone.)

The Dwarven language was created by Aulë, and was known as Khuzdul. It was a strange language to Elves and Men, and few non-Dwarves learned it, also because they kept it secret. However, one Dwarven phrase is well known: the ancient battle cry, going back to at least the First Age: "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!", which means "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!"

In the earliest versions of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology (see: The History of Middle-earth) the dwarves were evil beings created by Melkor.