Maria Pavlovna Prilezhayeva (Russian: Мария Павловна Прилежаева; 22 June 1903, Yaroslavl – 10 April 1989, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian children's author, literary critic and the Union of Soviet Writers official, best known for her novel The Life of Lenin (1970) which earned her the N. K. Krupskaya RSFSR State Prize in 1971 and later the Order of Lenin.

Several more school-themed books followed, including Semiklassnitsy (The 7th Form Girls, 1944) and Yunost Mashi Strogovoi (The Youth of Masha Strogova, 1948).

Describing herself as a 'lyrical realist', Prilezhayeva cited Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Alexander Blok as her major influences.

As a Union of Soviet Writers' official, it was Prilezhayeva's duty to take part in all meetings concerning the dissidents' cases, but in comparison to her colleagues she was considered a liberal.

Author and lawyer Arkady Waksberg mentioned her among those who (unsuccessfully) tried to help the poet Leib Kvitko, one of the victims of the so-called 'uprooting cosmopolitism' campaign.