Jules Cotard (1 June 1840 – 19 August 1889) was a French physician who practiced neurology and psychiatry.

He is best known for first describing the Cotard delusion, a patient's delusional belief that they are dead, do not exist, or do not have bodily organs.

Cotard became particularly interested in cerebrovascular accidents (commonly known as 'strokes') and their consequences and undertook autopsies to better understand how these affected the brain.

In August 1889, Cotard's daughter contracted diphtheria and he reportedly refused to leave her bedside for 15 days until she recovered.

Jules Cotard served as the real-life model for the character of Dr. Cottard in the Marcel Proust novel In Search of Lost Time.