Maule is a town and commune in Talca Province in central Chile's Maule Region. It takes its name from the Mapudungun words for "valley" (mau) and "rainy" (len).

The town of Maule lies near the Maule River. The Maule commune spans an area of 238.2 km² (92 sq mi).

Since the time of the Incas, the area that makes up the Maule commune today has been a place of strategic and communicative value due to its close proximity to the river of the same name. In this area, the city of Talca was founded as the Villa de San Agustín about 12 km (7 mi) to the north. In the mid 18th century, nearby Duao was founded as the communal seat. During the 19th century, many people were attracted to the mining activity in the area of El Chavito and settled here looking for a better future. They founded various towns, principally Peumo. Toward the west was the old river port of Linares de Perales which lies between the confluence of the Maule and Claro rivers, where barges transported agricultural products to their destination of Constitución.

On 30 December 1927, then-president Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Mientras renamed Peumo to Maule and established the commune with Supreme Decree 8583. At this time, the communal seat was moved from Duao to Maule where it remains to this day. In 1928, a year after its founding, the commune of Maule, which was at one time owned by the Lailhacar brothers, belonged to the municipality of Duao but was renamed to the municipality of Maule. Until 1927, the ancient city of Duao had been led by seven alcaldes. The current commune of Maule, since its first mayor Carlos Garcena to its present mayor, has been led by 39 alcaldes.

The economy of the commune is based primary on agriculture and stockbreeding. The goldmine El Chavito can be found on the riverbank where El Águila hill, property of the Silva Neale family, was the area's main gold deposit in the 19th century.

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