SS Austria was a steamship of the Hamburg America Line which sank on 13 September 1858, in one of the worst transatlantic maritime disasters of the nineteenth century, claiming the lives of 449 passengers and crew.

After a cancelled British Government charter, she went into service with the Hamburg America Line on 1 May 1858 on the Hamburg-New York City route.

On 1 September 1858, SS Austria captained by F. A. Heydtmann sailed from Hamburg on her third voyage to New York City.

At approximately 12:00, on 13 September, at coordinates 45°01′N 41°30′W / 45.017°N 41.500°W / 45.017; -41.500, following a procedure to fumigate steerage by dipping a red-hot chain into a bucket of tar; the chain became too hot for the boatswain to hold, and it was dropped onto the deck, which immediately burst into flames; although the ship was traveling at only half speed it was impossible to stop the engines as the engine crew had become asphyxiated.

The passing barque, Maurice of France, rescued most of the survivors (67), and the Catarina of Norway picked up more (22) the next morning.