Palorchestes ("ancient leaper") is an extinct genus of large terrestrial, herbivorous Australian marsupial of the family Palorchestidae, living from the Miocene through to the Late Pleistocene.

[9] The genus was allied to other diprotodontid genera, Ngapakaldia and Pitikantia, firstly recognised as a subfamily Palorchestinae (Stirton, 1967), later elevated to familial status with the order (Archer and Bartholomai, 1978).

However, a recent comprehensive review of the cranial morphology of various Palorchestes species and the related genus of Propalorchestes showed strong support for well-developed prehensile lips, rather than a tapir-like proboscis.

[12][10] A structural detail of the first molar is regarded as characteristic of this genus, the development of a midlink at the crown, distinguishing it from the earlier Propalorchestes and other Miocene genera.

[8] Following Owen and other workers' conceptions as a macropidid, a very large ancestor of the modern kangaroos, the Australian Museum in Sydney commissioned a model reconstruction that was exhibited during the early decades of the 20th century.

A general-interest story with a photographs and details describing the process of the construction, reproducing a "giant kangaroo" that could attain 10 ft in height, was published in the magazine of the museum.

[10] Due to the extreme rarity of its remains, some authors have interpreted it as a solitary animal that had large ranges and slow reproductive rates.