Matei Vișniec (Romanian: [maˈtej viʃˈnjek]; born 29 January 1956) is a Romanian-French playwright, poet and journalist living in Paris.

After the fall of communism in Romania, in 1989, Matei Vișniec became one of the most performed playwrights in the country, with more than 30 plays put on in Bucharest and other towns.

In 1996 the National Theatre of Timișoara organized a Matei Vișniec Festival with 12 companies presenting his plays.

His international audience as a playwright started in 1992, with the play Horses at the Windows performed in France, and Old Clown Wanted at the "Bonner Biennale".

Old Clown Wanted has been performed in: France, Germany, United States, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, Romania, Azerbaijan, Moldavia, and Georgia.