Pounawea is a small town in The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand.

It is located four kilometres southwest of Owaka, at the mouth of the Catlins River.

Pounawea is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement.

It is part of the much larger Catlins statistical area.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.8% had no religion, 41.2% were Christian, and 5.9% were Buddhist.