Robert D. Martin (born 1942) is a British-born biological anthropologist who is currently an Emeritus Curator at The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois.

His PhD project (1964-67) on the behavior and evolution of treeshrews (Tupaiidae) was based on research with Konrad Lorenz and Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (Max-Planck-Institut, Seewiesen), supervised by Nikolaas Tinbergen (University of Oxford).

Martin then returned to University College London, first as reader (1978–82) and then as professor (1982–86) in biological anthropology, during which his research became focused on allometric scaling, particularly regarding the brain.

In 2001, Martin accepted an appointment at The Field Museum, first as vice president and then as provost for Academic Affairs while holding the position as curator in the Department of Anthropology.

In order to interpret human origins, he has conducted comprehensive comparisons across primates with studies that cover anatomy of both living and fossil representatives, ecology, behaviour, reproduction and molecular evolution.

As a curator, he has also overseen a number of exhibits at The Field Museum, including Images of the Afterlife and "Scenes from the Stone Age: The Cave Paintings of Lascaux.