Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on November 23, 2008, by Black Frog and Geffen Records. It was the first Guns N' Roses studio album since the 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?", and their first album of original studio material since Use Your Illusion I and II (1991). It was the first Guns N' Roses album without their longtime producer Mike Clink; instead, it was produced by singer Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo. It underwent a protracted recording process, delayed by personnel and legal problems, label interference and Rose's perfectionism.

From 1994 to 1997, amid creative and personal differences, guitarists Gilby Clarke and Slash, drummer Matt Sorum, and bassist Duff McKagan left Guns N' Roses, leaving only Rose, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, and guitarist Paul Tobias. In 1997, Rose, Reed, and Tobias began work with guitarist Robin Finck and drummer Josh Freese, and in 1998 bassist Tommy Stinson and multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman joined them. The lineup shifted several times, incorporating guitarists Buckethead, Richard Fortus and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and drummers Brain and Frank Ferrer. Guitarist Brian May, vocalist Sebastian Bach, orchestrators Marco Beltrami and Paul Buckmaster, engineer Eric Caudieux, and producers including Sean Beavan, Roy Thomas Baker, and Caram Costanzo worked on the album across 14 studios. The band recorded dozens of songs and suggested they could release them across multiple albums.

Chinese Democracy languished in development hell for eight years. Geffen originally planned to release it in 1999, but it was delayed and largely rerecorded in 2000. With costs reportedly exceeding $13 million, it became the most expensive rock album ever produced, and Geffen pulled their funding in early 2004. After missing a release date of March 2007, it was finally released in November 2008, dogged by leaks and legal disputes.

Preceded by the title track as a lead single, Chinese Democracy debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum. However, it did not meet sales expectations in the United States. It received divisive but generally favorable reviews, achieved international chart success, and has sold over one million copies in Europe.