The Mixtec (or Mixteca) are a Native American people centered in the Oaxaca state of Mexico. "Mixtec" is also the name of their historic language. 

The term Mixtec (Mixeca in Spanish) comes from the Aztec word of Mixtecapan, or place of the clouds. The Mixtec call themselves 'ñuu savi', 'ñuu djau', 'ñuu davi', 'naa savi', etc, depending on the local variant of their language, the "Sa'a Ndavi". ñuu savi, in Mixtec language, means people of the rain, or town of the rain, again depending on the local variant. Modern Indiginesta movements have tried to change the name of the language to "Tu'un Savi", or Word of the rain, instead of Sa'a Ndavi, which literally means poor language. 

In Pre-Columbian times, the Mixtec were one of the major civilizations of Mesoamerica. Important ancient centers of the Mixtec include the ancient capital of Tilantongo, as well as the sites of Achiutla, Cuilapan, Huamelupan, Mitla, Tlaxiaco, Juxtlahuaca, and Yucuñudahui. The Mixtec also made major constructions at the ancient city of Monte Albán (which had originated as a Zapotec city before the Mixtec gained control of it). The work of Mixtec artisans who produced work in stone, wood, and metal were well regarded throughout ancient Mesoamerica. The Aztec Emperor Auitzotl conquered the Mixtec about 30 years before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors. They put up a fierce and bloody resistance to Spanish rule until the Spanish subdued them and their central Mexican allies lead by Pedro de Alvarado. 

The Mixtec area, both historically and today, corresponds roughly to the western half of the state of Oaxaca, with some Mixtec communities extending into the neighboring state of Puebla to the northwest and also the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec people are often subdivided into three geographic and cultural areas: The Mixteca Alta or Highland Mixtec living in the mountains in, around, and to the west of the valley of Oaxaca; the Mixteca Baja or Lowland Mixtec living to the north and west of these highlands, and the Mixteca de la Costa or Coastal Mixtec living in the southern plains and the coast of the Pacific Ocean. For most of Mixtec history the Mixteca Alta was the dominant political force, with the capitals of the Mixtec nation located in the central highlands. The valley of Oaxaca itself was often a disputed border region, sometimes dominated by the Mixtec and sometimes by the neighboring people to the east, the Zapotec. 

The Mixtec language was estimated to be spoken by about 300,000 people at the end of the 20th century, although the majority of Mixtec speakers also had at least a working knowledge of the Spanish language. 

The Mixtec are better known in the anthropological world for their Codices, or phonetic pictures in which they wrote their history and genealogies in deerskin in the "fold-book" form. The most known story of the Mixtec Codices is the legend of Lord 8 Deer, named after the day in which he was born, and with a personal name of Jaguar Claw, whose epic is told in several codices, including the Codex Bodley and Codex Nuttal, in which he manage to conquer and unite most of the Mixteca region.