René Le Bossu or (16 March 163114 March 1680) was a French literary critic.

Le Bossu was born in Paris, studied at Nanterre, and in 1649 became one of the regular canons of the Abbey of St Genevieve. Its leading doctrine was that the subject should be chosen before the characters, and that the action should be arranged without reference to the personages who are to figure in the scene. This book was reprinted in several editions, and was translated into English.