Xia Yan (夏衍)(30 October 1900 - 6 February 1995) was a Chinese playwright and screenwriter.
Xia entered Zhejiang Industrial School (浙江甲種工業學校, a technical school of Zhejiang University) in 1915 .
Amongst the dozens of plays and screenplays penned by Xia Yen, the most renowned works include Under the Eaves of Shanghai (1937) and The Fascist Bacillus (1944). He rose to the position of vice-minister for culture by the 1960s but later spent eight years in prison following the Cultural Revolution. Today the Xia Yan Film Literature Awards are named in his honour.