The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, in North East England. The borough forms the south west part of the county. It is named after its largest town, Gateshead, but also spans the towns of Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon and Ryton; suburban areas include Felling, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell.

It is bordered by five other local authorities: Newcastle upon Tyne to the north, Northumberland to the west, County Durham to the south, Sunderland to the south east, and South Tyneside to the east.

The district has some 201,000 inhabitants and lies between the historic county boundaries of Northumberland and County Durham. It along with South Tyneside was the division between Northumberland and County Durham. The county borough of Gateshead was combined along with the urban districts of Felling, Blaydon, Ryton and part of Chester-le-Street Rural District into the new Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974. In 1986 the County Council of Tyne and Wear was abolished, and so Gateshead Council effectively became a unitary authority.