Ovidiu Papadima (June 23, 1909, Sinoe, Constanța County – May 26, 1996, Bucharest) was a Romanian literary critic, folklorist, and essayist.

He studied at the Alexandru Papiu Ilarian High School in Târgu Mureș, graduating at the top of his class in 1928.

From 1937 to 1941, he held an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship, sponsored by the Foreign Office of Nazi Germany.

After the establishment of the communist regime, Papadima was arrested in 1952 for "counterrevolutionary activities" and for his writings from the interbellic period (especially at Gândirea).

Physically exhausted after this experience (his weight dropped to only 44 kg (97 lb)), he was released on October 7, 1955.