This is a list of prominent figures who contributed to Marxist theory, principally as authors; it is not intended to list politicians who happen(ed) to be a member of an ostensibly communist political party or other organisation.
{|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="text-align:left;"
|-
!Name
!Place of birth
!Place of death
!Nationality
!Life
!Tendency
|-
|Victor Adler
|Prague, Austria-Hungary
|Vienna, Austria
| Austrian
|1852–1918
|Social democracy, Austro-Marxism
|-
|Theodor W. Adorno
|Frankfurt am Main, Hesse-Nassau Province, Prussia, Germany
|Visp, Visp, Valais, Switzerland
| German
|1903–1969
|Frankfurt School, Western Marxism
|-
|Louis Althusser
|Birmendreïs, French Algeria
|Paris, France
| French
|1918–1990
|Western Marxism, Structural Marxism, Leninism
|-
|Samir Amin
|Cairo, Egypt
|Paris, France
| Egyptian and French
|1931–2018
|Third Worldism, Maoism, World-systems theory
|-
|Otto Bauer
|Vienna, Austria-Hungary
|Paris, France
| Austrian
|1881–1938
|Social Democracy, Austro-Marxism
|-
|Walter Benjamin
|Berlin, German Empire
|Portbou, Catalonia, Spain
| German
|1892–1940
|Western Marxism, Marxist hermeneutics
|-
|Franco "Bifo" Berardi
|Bologna, Italy
|Still Living
| Italian
|1949–
|Autonomism
|-
|Eduard Bernstein
|Schöneberg, German Confederation
|Berlin, Germany
| German
|1850–1932
|Social democracy, Marxist revisionism
|-
|Caio Prado Júnior
|São Paulo, Brazil
|São Paulo, Brazil
| Brazilian
|1907–1990
|Marxism
|-
|Paulo Freire
|Recife, Brazil
|São Paulo, Brazil
| Brazilian
|1921–1997
|Marxist Humanism
|-
|Ernst Bloch
|Ludwigshafen, Germany
|Tübingen, West Germany
| German
|1885–1977
|Western Marxism, Marxist hermeneutics, Marxist humanism
|-
|Amadeo Bordiga
|Ercolano, Kingdom of Italy
|Formia, Italy
| Italian
|1889–1970
|Italian Left communism, Leninism
|-
|Bertolt Brecht
|Augsburg, German Empire
|East Berlin, East Germany
| German
|1898–1956
|Marxist literary criticism
|-
|Nikolai Bukharin
|Moscow, Russian Empire
|Kommunarka shooting ground, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
| Russian
|1888–1938
|Bolshevism, Left communism (initially), Right opposition (later on)
|-
|Jacques Camatte
|Plan-de-Cuques, Alpes-Maritimes, France
|France
| French
|1935–2025
|Bordigism, Anarcho-primitivism (later on), Communization (later on)
|-
|Cornelius Castoriadis
|Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
|Paris, France
| Greek and French
|1922–1997
|Western Marxism, Post-Marxism, Psychoanalytic Marxism, Libertarian socialism
|-
|Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya
|Calcutta, British Raj
|Calcutta, India
| Indian
|1918–1993
|Marxism
|-
|V. Gordon Childe
|Sydney, Colony of New South Wales
|Blackheath, New South Wales, Australia
| Australian
|1892–1957
|Marxist archaeology
|-
|G. A. Cohen
|Montreal, Quebec, Canada
|Oxford, England
| Canadian
|1941–2009
|Analytical Marxism
|-
|James Connolly
|Cowgate, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
|Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland
| Irish and Scottish
|1868–1916
|Marxism, Irish republicanism
|-
|Onorato Damen
|Monte San Pietrangeli, Italy
|Milan
| Italian
|1893–1979
|Italian Left communism
|-
|Gilles Dauvé
|France
|Still living
| French
|1947–
|Left communism, Communization
|-
|Angela Davis
|Birmingham, Alabama
|Still Living
| American
|1944–
|Marxist feminism
|-
|Guy Debord
|Paris, France
|Bellevue-la-Montagne, Haute-Loire, France
| French
|1931–1994
|Situationism
|-
|Daniel De Leon
|Curaçao
|New York, State of New York, United States
| American
|1852–1914
|De Leonism, Syndicalism
|-
|Joseph Dietzgen
|Blankenberg (now Hennef, German Confederation
|Chicago, Illinois, United States
| German
|1828–1888
|Marxism
|-
|Raya Dunayevskaya
|Yaryshev, Russian Empire (today, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine)
|Chicago, Illinois, United States
| American
|1910–1987
|Marxist humanism
|-
|Terry Eagleton
|Salford, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
|Still living
| British
|1942–
|Marxism
|-
|Gilles Deleuze
|Paris, France
|Paris, France
| French
|1925–1995
|Freudo-Marxism, Post-Marxism
|-
|Arghiri Emmanuel
|Patras, Greece
|Paris, France
| Greek
|1911–2001
|Unequal exchange
|-
|Friedrich Engels
|Barmen, Kingdom of Prussia (today Wuppertal, Germany)
|London, United Kingdom
| German
|1820–1895
|Classical Marxism
|-
|Frantz Fanon
|Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
|Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| French
|1925–1961
|Marxist humanism, Pan-Africanism, Decolonization
|-
|John Bellamy Foster
|Seattle, Washington, United States
|Still living
| American
|1953–
|Marxism
|-
|Herman Gorter
|Wormerveer
|Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Brussels
| Dutch
|1864–1927
|Council communism
|-
|Antonio Gramsci
|Ales, Sardinia, Italy
|Rome, Lazio, Italy
| Italian
|1891–1937
|Gramscianism, Western Marxism, Marxist humanism, Neo-Marxism
|-
|Félix Guattari
|Villeneuve-les-Sablons, France
|Cour-Cheverny, France
| French
|1930–1992
|Freudo-Marxism, Post-Marxism
|-
|Ernesto "Che" Guevara
|Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
|La Higuera, Vallegrande, Bolivia
| Argentine
|1928–1967
|Marxism-Leninism, Guevarism
|-
|Abimael Guzmán (Gonzalo)
|Arequipa, Peru
|Callao, Peru
| Peruvian
|1934–2021
|Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, Gonzalo thought
|-
|Ted Grant
|Germiston, South Africa
|London, United Kingdom
| South African and British
|1913–2006
|Trotskyism
|-
|Sukarno
|Surabaya, Dutch East Indies
|Jakarta, Indonesia
| Indonesian
|1901–1970
|Marhaenism, Nasakom
|-
|Tan Malaka
|Limapuluh Koto, Dutch East Indies
|Kediri, Indonesia
| Indonesian
|1897–1949
|Islamic Marxism, Trotskyism
|-
|David Harvey
|Gillingham, Kent, England, United Kingdom
|Still living
| British
|1935–
|Marxist geography
|-
|Harry Haywood
|South Omaha, Nebraska, United States
|Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
| American
|1898–1985
|Marxism-Leninism
|-
|Rudolf Hilferding
|Vienna, Austria-Hungary
|Paris, France
| Austrian and German
|1877–1941
|Austro-Marxism
|-
|Max Horkheimer
|Zuffenhausen (now Stuttgart), Württemberg, German Empire
|Nuremberg, Bavaria, West Germany
| German
|1895–1973
|Frankfurt School, Western Marxism
|-
|Tran Duc Thao
|Bắc Ninh province, French Indochina
|Paris, France
| Vietnamese
|1917 – 1993
|Phenomenology,Marxist philosophy
|-
|Ho Chi Minh
|Nghệ An Province, French Indochina
|Hanoi, North Vietnam
| Vietnamese
|1890–1969
|Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought
|-
|Enver Hoxha
|Ergiri (today Gjirokastër), Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
|Tirana, People's Socialist Republic of Albania
| Albanian
|1908–1985
|Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought (initially), Hoxhaism
|-
|C.L.R. James
|Trinidad
|London, United Kingdom
| Trinidadian and British
|1901–1989
|Marxism, Pan-Africanism, Anti-Stalinist left
|-
|Fredric Jameson
|Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|Killingworth, Connecticut, United States
| American
|1934–2024
|Western Marxism, Marxist hermeneutics
|-
|Kojin Karatani
|Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
|Still living
| Japanese
|1941–
|Marxist literary criticism
|-
|Edvard Kardelj
|Ljubljana, Duchy of Carniola, Austria-Hungary
|Ljubljana, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
| Yugoslavian
|1910–1979
|Titoism
|-
|Karl Kautsky
|Prague, Austria-Hungary
|Amsterdam, Netherlands
| Czech, Austrian and German
|1854–1938
|Orthodox Marxism
|-
|İbrahim Kaypakkaya
|Çorum, Turkey
|Çorum, Turkey
| Turkish
|1949–1973
|Maoism
|-
|Kim Il-Sung
|Chingjong, Korea
|Hyangsan, Korea
| Korean
|1912–1994
|Marxism-Leninism, Juche
|-
|Jim Kemmy
|Limerick, Ireland
|Limerick, Ireland
| Irish
|1936–1997
|Marxism
|-
|Alexandra Kollontai
|St Petersburg, Russian Empire
|Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
| Soviet
|1872–1952
|Marxist feminism, Bolshevism
|-
|Karl Korsch
|Tostedt, German Empire
|Belmont, Massachusetts, United States
| German
|1886–1961
|Western Marxism
|-
|Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi
|Kosben, (now Goa) British Raj
|Pune, Maharashtra, India
| Indian
|1907–1966
|Marxism
|-
|Yalçın Küçük
|İskenderun, Hatay, Turkey
|
| Turkish
|1938–2026
|Marxism
|-
|Antonio Labriola
|Cassino, Papal States
|Rome, Kingdom of Italy
| Italian
|1843–1904
|Marxism
|-
|Paul Lafargue
|Santiago de Cuba
|Draveil, France
| French
|1842–1911
|Marxism, Anti-work
|-
|Henri Lefebvre
|Hagetmau, France
|Navarrenx, France
| French
|1901–1991
|Western Marxism, Hegelian Marxism
|-
|Vladimir Lenin
|Simbirsk, Russian Empire
|Gorki Leninskiye, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
| Soviet
|1870–1924
|Leninism, Bolshevism
|-
|Karl Liebknecht
|Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
|Berlin, Weimar Republic
| German
|1871–1919
|Spartacism
|-
|Domenico Losurdo
|Sannicandro di Bari, Kingdom of Italy
|Ancona, Italy
| Italian
|1941–2018
|Marxism
|-
|Georg Lukács
|Budapest, Austria-Hungary
|Budapest, People's Republic of Hungary
| Hungarian
|1885–1971
|Budapest School, Western Marxism, Hegelian Marxism, Leninism
|-
|Rosa Luxemburg
|Zamość, Vistula Land, Russian Empire
|Berlin, Germany
| Polish and German
|1871–1919
|Spartacism
|-
|Herbert Marcuse
|Berlin, German Empire
|Starnberg, West Germany
| German
|1898–1979
|Frankfurt School, Western Marxism
|-
|José Carlos Mariátegui
|Moquegua, Peru
|Lima, Peru
| Peruvian
|1894–1930
|Marxism, Sorelianism
|-
|Andreas Malm
|Mölndal, Sweden
|Still living
| Swedish
|1977–
|Marxism
|-
|Karl Marx
|Trier, Kingdom of Prussia
|London, United Kingdom
| Prussian and German
|1818–1883
|Classical Marxism
|-
|Paul Mattick
|Stolp, Pomerania, German Empire (now Poland)
|Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| German
|1904–1981
|Council communism
|-
|Andy Merrifield
|Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom
|Still living
| British
|1960–
|"Magical Marxism"
|-
|István Mészáros
|Budapest, Hungary
|Margate, England
| Hungary
|1930–2017
|Marxism
|-
|Antonio Negri
|Padua, Italy
|Paris, France
| Italian
|1933–2023
|Autonomism
|-
|Kwame Nkrumah
|Nkroful, Gold Coast (now Ghana)
|Bucharest, Romania
| Ghanaian
|1909–1972
|Nkrumahism
|-
|Abdullah Öcalan
|Ömerli, Şanlıurfa, Turkey
|Still living
| Turkish Kurdish
|1948–
|Democratic confederalism
|-
|Sylvia Pankhurst
|Manchester, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
|Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| British and Ethiopian
|1882–1960
|Council communism
|-
|Anton Pannekoek
|Vaassen, Netherlands
|Wageningen, Netherlands
| Dutch
|1873–1960
|Council communism
|-
|Evgeny Pashukanis
|Staritsa, Russian Empire
|Soviet Union
| Russian
|1891–1937
|Leninism
|-
|Georgi Plekhanov
|Gudalovka (now Gryazinsky District), Tambov Governorate, Russian Empire
|Terijoki, Finland
| Russian
|1856–1918
|Marxism
|-
|Bijan Jazani
|Tehran, Iran
|Tehran, Iran
| Iranian
|1938–1975
|Marxism
|-
|Nicos Poulantzas
|Athens, Greece
|Paris, France
| Greek
|1936–1979
|Structural Marxism, Leninism (initially), Democratic socialism (later on)
|-
|Isaak Illich Rubin
|Dinaburg, Russian Empire
|Aktobe, Kazakh SSR, USSR
| Soviet Union
|1886–1937
|Marxism
|-
|Jean-Paul Sartre
|Paris, France
|Paris, France
| French
|1905–1980
|Neo-Marxism, Existentialism
|-
|Jose Maria Sison
|Ilocos Sur, Philippines
|Utrecht, Netherlands
| Filipino
|1939 - 2022
|Marxism-Leninism-Maoism
|-
|Alfred Sohn-Rethel
|Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
|Bremen, West Germany
| German
|1899–1990
|Marxism
|-
|Mahdi Amel
|Harouf, Lebanon
|Beirut, Lebanon
| Lebanese
|1936–1987
|Marxism
|-
|Joseph Stalin
|Gori, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire
|Kuntsevo Dacha near Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
| Soviet
|1878–1953
|Marxism-Leninism, Stalinism
|-
|Paul Sweezy
|New York City, New York, United States
|Larchmont, New York (state), United States
| American
|1910–2004
|Neo-Marxism
|-
|Josip Broz Tito
|Kumrovec, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary
|Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
| Yugoslavian
|1892–1980
|Marxism-Leninism, Titoism
|-
|Leon Trotsky
|Yelizavetgrad, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire
|Coyoacán, Distrito Federal, Mexico
| Soviet
|1879–1940
|Leninism, Bolshevism, Trotskyism
|-
|Alberto Toscano
|Italy
|Still living
| Italy
|1977–
|Western Marxism
|-
|Raymond Williams
|Llanfihangel Crucorney, Wales, United Kingdom
|Saffron Walden, England, United Kingdom
| British ( Welsh)
|1921–1988
|Western Marxism, New Left
|-
|Karl August Wittfogel
|Woltersdorf, Lower Saxony, Province of Hanover, German Empire
|New York, State of New York, United States
| German and American
|1896–1988
|Marxism
|-
|Mao Zedong
|Shaoshan, Hunan, Qing Dynasty
|Beijing, People's Republic of China
| Chinese
|1893–1976
|Marxism-Leninism, Maoism
|-
|Slavoj Žižek
|Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
|Still living
| Slovene ( Yugoslavian before Dissolution of Yugoslavia)
|1949–
|Western Marxism, Hegelian Marxism, Psychoanalytic Marxism
|}
See also
- List of Marxian economists