State Route 261 (SR 261) is a north–south secondary state highway that is located entirely in Macon County in Middle Tennessee.

The route’s length is roughly 13.8 miles (22.2 km).

SR 261 travels for 0.2 miles (0.32 km) to the Public Square in downtown Lafayette to run concurrent with SR 10 for an additional 0.5 miles (0.80 km).

Its northern terminus is the point where it becomes Kentucky Route 382 (KY 382) at the Kentucky state line in southern Monroe County near Bugtussle.

Until 2023, the road beyond SR 261's eastern terminus at the state line was signed as a split section of KY 87, which was separated into two segments on the Kentucky side of the state line.