Ma Zhou (601–648), courtesy name Binwang, formally the Duke of Gaotang (高唐公), was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong in the Tang dynasty.

He appeared to have been born from a relatively poor household in Qinghe Commandery (清河, roughly modern Xingtai, Hebei) and lost his father early in life.

He was studious, particularly concentrating on the Shi Jing and the Spring and Autumn Annals, but was also carefree, not paying attention to details, and because of this, the people of his home region did not view him highly.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozu in the Tang dynasty, he served as a teacher in Bo Prefecture (博州, i.e., Qinghe), but was said to spend his days drinking, not concentrating on teaching the students, and was often rebuked by the prefect Daxi Shu (達奚恕).

[1] He noted that at the time, even though Emperor Taizong had reigned for over a decade, the empire was still, overall, a fraction of the strength of the Sui dynasty at its prime, in terms of population and wealth.

Also based on Ma's suggestions, the institution of Chang'an city criers (who would call out at both dawn and dusk) and replaced with drums, greatly reducing the amount of labor necessary.

In 645, when Emperor Taizong attacked Goguryeo, he left Li Zhi in charge of logistics at Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei), assisted by Gao Shilian, Liu Ji, and Ma.

As Ma grew gravely ill, he asked his family to bring him the copies of the petitions he had submitted to Emperor Taizong, and he personally burned them, stating, "Guan Zhong and Yan Ying [(晏嬰)] [both great chancellors of the Spring and Autumn period] publicly showed their lords' faults to become famous for posterity.