Linyi (Simplified Chinese: 临沂; Traditional Chinese: 臨沂; Pinyin: Línyí) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, Linyi borders Rizhao to the east, Weifang to the northeast, Zibo to the north, Tai'an to the northwest, Jining to the west, Zaozhuang to the southwest, and the province of Jiangsu to the south.

The prefecture-level city of Linyi administers 12 county-level divisions, including 3 districts and 9 counties.

• Lanshan District (兰山区)
• Luozhuang District (罗庄区)
• Hedong District (河东区)
• Tancheng County (郯城县)
• Cangshan County (苍山县)
• Junan County (莒南县)
• Yishui County (沂水县)
• Mengyin County (蒙阴县)
• Pingyi County (平邑县)
• Fei County (费县)
• Yinan County (沂南县)
• Linshu County (临沭县)

These are further divided into 181 township-level divisions.

Linyi is about 2400 years old. In the 1970s Sun Tzu's Art of War was unearthed here.

In the spring of 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city was the scene of fierce fighting between Chinese and Japanese troops. The Chinese, encouraged by the success of their military in the nearby Battle of Tai'erzhuang, defended Linyi fiercely, but Japanese soldiers breached the walls on April 19, 1938. The defenders withdrew the next day to another contested area 30 miles away.

After the People's Republic of China was founded in October 1949, the administrative division was adjusted.

Linyi enjoys a temperate climate and high precipitation. The lie of the land varies, with mountains, hills, and plains accounting for approximately equal parts of the total area. The entire jurisdiction covers 17,184 km² and the total population is close to 10 million, making this the largest administrative division in the province in both geographic and demographic terms.

Linyi's economy is based around its wholesale markets 1. The Linyi Wholesale City is ranked 3rd in its category in China with an annual trade volume of 40 billion RMB (~US$5 billion). The Linyi prefecture has developed more than 1,500 specialized villages, over 80 specialized towns and nearly 800 industrialized agricultural enterprises.

In 2002 the prefecture's GDP was 71 billion RMB (~US$16 billion) comprising 12 billion RMB from primary industry, 34 billion RMB from secondary industry and 25 billion RMB from tertiary industry. Main industrial products are: textiles, foodstuffs, machinery, electronics, chemicals, building materials, coal, medicines, gold and porcelain.

In 2003 there were 77 enterprises with a pre-tax profit above 10 million RMB (US$1.25 million) and 7 enterprises with a pre-tax profit above 100 million RMB (US$12.5 million).

Machinery is exported to Europe, the Americas and south-east Asia. Linyi prefecture has an annual capacity of 3 million tons of compound fertilizers.

Wang Xizhi (303 - 361), Eastern Jin Dynasty calligrapher

Linyi's focal point is the People's Square (Renmin Guangchong). It was built in the early 1990's on the site of an old army barracks. It is about 500 metres east-west, and about 300 metres north-south. Underneath it is a shopping centre and entertainment facilities.

Just north of the city centre is a park dedicated to Wang Xizhi. For a small entrance fee tourists can enjoy a pleasant walk and try Chinese calligraphy.

Near the centre of Linyi city is a museum which houses some original bamboo stips from the Sun Tzu era.