The Battle of White Wolf Mountain was a battle fought in 207 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle took place in northern China, beyond the frontiers of the ruling Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and the nomadic Wuhuan tribes, who were allied with Cao's rivals Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi. The victory attained by Cao Cao dashed the hopes of a Wuhuan dominion, and the Wuhuan eventually became weakened, lost importance, and were gradually absorbed into China or the Xianbei tribes.

The northern warlord Yuan Shao had maintained good relations with the Wuhuan beyond Chinese borders during his campaign against rival warlord Gongsun Zan, their common enemy, in the 190s. Yuan Shao gave the chieftains of his Wuhuan allies seals and insignia as chanyu after the final destruction of Gongsun Zan in the Battle of Yijing, and reinforced the alliance by marrying the daughters of his subordinates to the Wuhuan leaders, pretending as though the daughters were his own. The Wuhuan war leader Tadun was especially powerful and was thus very well-treated by Yuan Shao.

The Wuhuan continued to support the Yuan clan after Yuan Shao's defeat at the Battle of Guandu against Cao Cao, shortly after which Yuan died. Subsequently, Yuan Shao's oldest and youngest son, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang respectively, fought among themselves in a succession feud, which Cao Cao exploited for himself. Soon Yuan Tan was killed in a battle against Cao Cao and Yuan Shang had to flee to his second brother, Yuan Xi, in You Province. The Yuan brothers in You Province then became attacked in a mutiny against them, and fled further north to seek protection from the Wuhuan. The Wuhuan at this time had been united under the military leadership of Tadun, and his apparent strength prompted rumours that he was seeking to emulate Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu and Tanshihuai (檀石槐) of the Xianbei in creating a hegemony over the northern nomadic tribes. With the arrival of the Yuan brothers, accompanied by a considerable number of their followers, Tadun had gained command of a combined Wuhuan and Chinese force that was said to have numbered up to 300,000.

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