Balistes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Balistidae, the triggerfishes.

Balistes was first proposed as a genus by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae publishes in 1758.

In 1865 Pieter Bleeker designated Balistes veluta as the type species of the genus.

The pelvic fins are vestigial and consist of four scales forming a case for the end of the pelvis The skin is thick and leathery with plate-like scales that are arranged in regular diagonal rows.

[10] These are modreatly large fishes with the largest species being the finescale triggerfish (B. polylepis) with a maximum published total length of 76 cm (30 in).