The Palaung (Burmese: ပလောင် လူမျိုး [pəlàʊɰ̃ lùmjó]; Thai: ปะหล่อง, also written as Benglong Palong) or Ta'ang (တ‌အောင်း) are one of the ancient Austroasiatic ethnic groups [1] found in Shan State of Myanmar (Burma), Yunnan Province of China and Northern Thailand.

[3][4] The Myanmar millitary is believed to be derived benefit from poppy cultivation, which has caused serious drug addiction among the local people in Palaung region.

There are three main principal Palaung languages: Palé (Ruching), Rumai, and Shwe (Ta'ang or De'ang).

Many of them have fled in the past decades from Shan State to escape persecution and oppression at the hands of various Myanmar's military rulers.

However, some have also maintained their ethnic animist religion which is a system of beliefs based on evil spirits called nats.