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Pekalongan Regency is a regency on the north coast of Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 892.91 km2 and had a population of 838,621 at the 2010 census and 968,821 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 1,030,342 (comprising 523,526 males and 506,816 females). Its administrative centre was formerly at Pekalongan City, but since that city was administratively separated from the regency, the regency's capital is now at Kajen, which is located in the middle of the regency, about 28 km south of Pekalongan City. The regency was originally much larger, but on 14 June 1965 its eastern half was split off and formed into a separate Batang Regency. Pekalongan residents are well known for their pursuit of perfection regarding the Indonesian traditional clothing called Batik.

The Dutch name of the regency was Pacalongan.

According to the popular legend, the word Pekalongan is believed to be derived from the Javanese word, Topo Ngalong, which means "bat-like meditation". Meanwhile, Javanese toponymical pattern of Pa/Pe- -An actually means place of-, so the name Pa- Kalong -An means place of Kalong or fruit bat in Javanese.

The northern part of the Pekalongan Regency is lowland, while the southern part of the regency is highland. The districts of Buaran, Siwalan, Tirto, Wiradesa and Wonokerto in the north coastal area together cover 91.20 km2 and had a population of 282,652 in mid 2025, essentially the western and southern suburbs of Pekalongan city.