The 3rd Armoured Division (Arabic: االفرقة الثالثة المدرعة) was a formation of the Syrian Army responsible for securing the northern approach to Damascus.

Hafez al-Assad decided to speed up the deployment of the 3rd Armored Division in the Beqaa Valley, and sent additional commando battalions to Lebanon.

The division, under General Shafiq Fayadh, played a key role in defeating the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the 1980s.

The 3rd Division, along with Ali Haydar's Special Forces and the Republican Guard, engaged with Rifaat's Defence Companies in Damascus.

[15] Human Rights Watch accused the division of involvement in the suppression of protests at the beginning of the Syrian Civil War.