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Amban (Manchu and Mongol:
Амбан Amban, Tibetan: ཨམ་བན་am ben, Chinese: 昂邦, Uighur:ئامبان་am ben) is a Manchu language term meaning "high official" (Chinese: 大臣; pinyin: dàchén), corresponding to a number of different official titles in the imperial government of Qing China. For instance, members of the Grand Council were called Coohai nashūn-i amban in the Manchu language and Qing governor-generals were called Uheri kadalara amban (Manchu: 
).
The most well-known ambans were the Qing imperial residents (Manchu: 
Seremšeme tehe amban; Chinese: 駐紮(劄)大臣 Zhùzhá Dàchén; Tibetan: Ngang pai) in Tibet, Qinghai, Mongolia and Xinjiang, which were territories of Qing China, but were not governed as regular provinces and retained many of their existing institutions.
The Qing imperial residents can be roughly compared to a European resident (also known as resident commissioners) in a protectorate (e.g. a British Indian princely state), the real rapport depending on historical circumstances rather than a general job description for every amban, while his authority was often very extensive, rather like a provincial governor.