Richard Kolkwitz (March 23, 1873 – April 16, 1956) was a German botanist who was a native of Berlin.
He studied natural sciences at the University of Berlin under Adolf Engler (1844–1930) and Simon Schwendener (1829–1919), and from 1895 to 1900 was an assistant at the university under Leopold Kny (1841–1916). Afterwards, he became a professor of botany in Berlin, and from 1901 until 1938 was also in charge of the Biological Prussian Experimental and Testing Institute for water supply and sewage disposal. In 1954 he became a professor of botany at the Free University of Berlin.