Maximilian Joseph von Tarnóczy (Hungarian: Tarnózy Miksa) (24 October 1806 – 4 April 1876) was an Austrian Cardinal and Archbishop.

He was born in Schwaz on 24 October 1806, the son of Franz Xaver von Tarnóczy (Tarnóczy Ferenc), a Hungarian-Bavarian nobleman (1756–1837) and his second wife, Catherine von Sprinzenberg (1776–1837).

In 1832 he received a doctorate in theology and worked as a teacher at the Salzburg Lyceum.

[1] As Archbishop of Salzburg, Tarnóczy wielded huge power in Rome, so much so that when he arrived at the First Vatican Council, Pope Pius IX welcomed him with the words, "Ecco il mezzo papa, che puo far dei vescovi" ("See the demi-Pope, who can make Bishops").

Pope Pius IX elevated Tarnóczy to the rank of Cardinal the consistory of 22 December 1873[3] and appointed him Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Aracoeli.