(also spelled East Turkistan; Uighur: شەرقىي تۈركىستان, romanized: Sherqiy Türkistan, Шәрқий Түркистан; Chinese: 东突厥斯坦) is a loosely-defined geographical and historical region in Central Asia, which varies in meaning by context and usage. The term was coined in the 19th century by Russian Turkologists, including Nikita Bichurin, who intended the name to replace the common Western term for the region, Chinese Turkestan, which referred to the Tarim Basin in the southwestern part of Xinjiang during the Qing Dynasty. The medieval Persian toponym "Turkestan" and its derivatives were not, however, used by the local population. The Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin is Altishahr, which means "Six Cities" in Uyghur. China from the Han Dynasty to Tang Dynasty had called an overlapping area the "Western Regions". The parts of this area controlled by China were termed "Xinjiang" starting in the 18th century.

From the 20th century on, Uyghur separatists and their supporters used East Turkestan (or Uyghurstan) as an appellation for the whole of Xinjiang (the Tarim Basin and Dzungaria) or for a future independent state in present-day Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. They reject the name of Xinjiang (meaning "New Frontier" in Chinese)[4] because of the Chinese perspective reflected in the name and prefer East Turkestan to emphasize connection to other, westerly, Turkic groups.

The First East Turkestan Republic existed from November 12, 1933, until April 16, 1934, and the Second East Turkestan Republic existed between November 12, 1944, and December 22, 1949.[5] East Turkestan is a founding member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), which was formed in 1991, where it is represented by the World Uyghur Congress.[6] In September 2004, the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile was established in Washington, D.C.

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