Wernicke's area is a part of the human brain that forms part of the cortex, on the left posterior section of the superior temporal gyrus, encircling the auditory cortex, on the Sylvian fissure (part of the brain where the temporal lobe and parietal lobe meet).

It can also be described as the posterior part of Brodmann area 22.

It is usually located in the left hemisphere, as the majority of people have brain areas specialized for language skills located on the left.

It is named after Karl Wernicke, a German neurologist and psychiatrist who in 1874 discovered that damage to this area could cause a type of aphasia (now called Wernicke's aphasia or receptive aphasia), which results in an impairment of language comprehension, and speech that has a natural-sounding rhythm and a relatively normal syntax, but has no recognisable meaning (a condition sometimes called fluent or jargon aphasia).

Wernicke's work initiated the study of this brain area and its role in language. It is particularly known to be involved in the understanding and comprehension of spoken language.

It is connected to Broca's area by a neural pathway called the arcuate fasciculus. Also connected to the primary auditory cortex for comprehension of the spoken word.