John Tanner may refer to:
- John S. Tanner (born 1944), former U.S. congressman from Tennessee
- John Sigismund Tanner (1705–1775), engraver to the Royal Mint, born in Coburg
- John Riley Tanner (1844–1901), former governor of Illinois
- John Tanner (American football, born 1897) (1897–1976), player in the National Football League, 1922–1924
- John Tanner (gridiron football, born 1945) (1945–2009), played in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League
- John Tanner (cyclist) (born 1968), British champion racing cyclist
- John Tanner (Mormon) (1778–1850), chief financial backer of the Kirtland Temple
- John Sears Tanner (born 1950), president of Brigham Young University–Hawaii
- John Tanner (criminal), convicted of the 1991 murder of Rachel McLean
- John Tanner (captive) (1780–1846), child kidnapped by Indians, author of book about it
- John Tanner (cricketer) (1772–1858), English amateur cricketer
- John Tanner (footballer) (1921–1987), English footballer
- John Tanner (ice hockey) (born 1971), retired ice hockey player
- John Tanner (bishop) (died 1615), Anglican bishop
- John Tanner (rugby union) (1927–2020), New Zealand rugby union player
- John Tanner (MP), MP for Malmesbury
- John Tanner, a character in Bernard Shaw's play Man and Superman
- John Tanner, the main character of the Driver video game franchise