The Nicholson River is a 725 km long river in the Northern Territory and the state of Queensland, Australia.
The headwaters of the river rise at the western end of China Wall on the Barkly Tableland, in the Northern Territory and head in a south easterly direction. The river then heads due east and crosses the border into the northwest region of Queensland near Nudjabarra across mostly uninhabited plains. It continues east across the Shadforth Plain and past the Aboriginal community of Doomadgee. The river then veers north near the Tiranna Roadhouse across Hann Crossing and past Escott, just west of Burketown where it is joined by its main tributary the Gregory River. The river continues north and later discharges into Pasco Inlet and the Gulf of Carpentaria. The ephemeral Nicholson has a length of approximately 390 kilometres.
The drainage basin of the river occupies an area of 53,200 square kilometres.
