3-Hydroxyvaleric acid (3-hydroxypentanoic acid) is the organic compound with the formula CH3CH2CH(OH)CH2CO2H.

It is one of the hydroxypentanoic acids.

[1] It is made from odd carbon fatty acids in the liver and rapidly enters the brain.

As opposed to 4-carbon ketone bodies, 3-hydroxyvaleric acid is anaplerotic, meaning it can refill the pool of TCA cycle intermediates.

The triglyceride triheptanoin is used clinically to produce 3-hydroxyvalerate (the carboxylate form).