Detlef Kraus (30 November 1919 – 7 January 2008) was a German pianist.
Born in Hamburg, Kraus gave his first concert at the age of 16, playing The Well-Tempered Clavier of Johann Sebastian Bach.
His later emphasis was on Brahms, together with conductors like Ferenc Fricsay, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Eugen Jochum, Hans Knappertsbusch, Joseph Keilberth, Kurt Masur, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, performing in New York City, Tokyo, London, and Berlin.
He taught piano at the Konservatorium Osnabrück and the Folkwang-Hochschule in Essen.
Kraus died of heart failure on January 7, 2008, at the age of 88.