Rayleigh was a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

This seat was created for the 1997 general election primarily from the abolished constituency of Rochford.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, which came into effect for the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England made radical alterations to existing constituencies to allow for the number of parliamentary seats in the county to be increased to eighteen.

These changes included the formation of a number of new constituencies in the southern and eastern parts of the county.

The Borough of Chelmsford wards were now included in the re-established constituency of Maldon.