Peter K. Schuster (born 7 March 1941) is a theoretical chemist known for his work with the German Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen in developing the quasispecies model.

His work has made great strides in the understanding of viruses and their replication, as well as theoretical mechanisms in the origin of life.

Schuster was born in Vienna, Austria and graduated with highest honors from "gymnasium".

He studied chemistry and physics at the University of Vienna and earned his PhD in 1967.

He is full professor of theoretical chemistry at the University of Vienna, the founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Jena, Germany, as well as the current head of its Department of Molecular Evolutionary Biology.