The Caçadores (hunters) were the elite light infantry troops of the Portuguese Army, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

As part of Beresford's reforms, Portuguese War secretary Miguel Pereira Forjaz proposed the creation of independent battalions of Caçadores and six were created.

Each battalion came to include a special Atiradores (sharpshooters) company armed with rifles in place of the muskets of ordinary infantry.

One of the most distinctive features of the Caçadores was their brown uniform, in contrast to the dark blue worn by the bulk of the Portuguese Army of that period.

The 5th Caçadores Battalion continued to exist as an administrative unit until 1988, with the role of winding-up the disbanded military regions and territorial commands of the former Overseas forces.