The Melbourne city centre (referred to as The City or The CBD (Central Business District) or more recently in planning parlance, The CAD, or Central Activities District) is a locality surrounded by metropolitan Melbourne which comprises the original settlement, the central business district, parkland and other built-up areas. It is the oldest part of Melbourne and includes many of the city's important institutions and landmarks, such as Parliament, the Supreme Court, Federation Square, Flinders Street Station and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The city centre is located in the local government areas of the City of Melbourne and small parts of it are in City of Port Phillip.

Although the city centre is one of the most developed areas of Melbourne, demographically it is one of the less densely populated, due to its core being commercial.

Although the area is described as the centre, it is not actually the demographic centre of Melbourne at all, due to an urban sprawl to the south east, the demographic centre being located at Bourne St, Glen Iris.

It does however represent the financial centre of Melbourne, with the vast majority of corporate headquarters located within the locality.