Xu Teli (Chinese: 徐特立; pinyin: Xú Tèlì; February 1, 1877 – November 28, 1968) was a politician of the People's Republic of China.

Xu was the teacher of Mao Zedong, Cai Hesen, Xiao Zisheng, and Tian Han.

In 1907, Xu made a report on current affairs in the school, when he talked about the humiliating things of the corrupt government of Qing Empire, large tears began to fill his eyes and broke hot across his cheeks, Xu was indignation that he cut his little finger off with a kitchen knife, and wrote a protest with a pen dipped in the blood, fainted on the spot.

[2][3] In 1919, Xu studied natural sciences at the University of Paris, he also visited Belgium and Germany.

In 1927, during the White Terror, Xu joined the Chinese Communist Party and took part in the Nanchang Uprising.