This is a list of Urdu language poets, arranged by date of birth. The italic text after the poet's name is their takhallus, or nom de plume.
13th century
- Amir Khusro (1253â€"1325)
16th century
- Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah (1565â€"1611), wrote poetry primarily in Persian, but also in Hindavi
17th century
- Wali Muhammad Wali, Wali Deccani (1667â€"1707)
- Siraj-ud-Din Ali Khan Arzu (1687-1756)
- Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan (1699â€"1781)
18th century
- Mirza Muhammad Rafi, Sauda (1713â€"1780)
- Siraj Aurangabadi (1715â€"1763)
- Khwaja Mir Dard, Dard (1721â€"1785)
- Mir Taqi Mir, Mir (1723â€"1810)
- Nazeer Akbarabadi, Nazeer (1740â€"1830)
- Mashafi Shaikh Ghulam Hamdani Mas'hafi (1750-1824)
- Insha Allah Khan 'Insha', Insha (1756-1817)
- Bahadur Shah, Zafar (1775â€"1862)
- Imam Baksh Nasikh, Nasikh (1776â€"1838)
- Khwaja Haidar Ali Atish, Atish (1778â€"1846)
- Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, Zauq (1789â€"1854)
- Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Ghalib (1797â€"1869)
19th century
- Momin Khan Momin Momin (1801â€"1852)
- Mirza Salaamat Ali Dabeer (Mirza Salaamat Ali) Dabeer (1803â€"1875)
- Mir Babar Ali Anis Anis (1803â€"1874)
- Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim, (1811â€"1845)
- Amir Meenai (1828â€"1900)
- Dagh Dehlvi (Nawab Mirza Khan) Daagh (1831â€"1905)
- Altaf Hussain Hali (Hali Panipati) Hali (1837â€"1914)
- Akbar Allahabadi (Syed Akbar Hussain)Akbar (1846â€"1921)
- Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi (Maulana Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi)Raza Bareilvi (1856-1921)
- Agha Shorish Kashmiri (Agha Abdul Kareem)Shorish (1917-1975)
- Naeem Hashmi (1919-1976)
- Bekhud Badayuni (Muhammad Abdul-Hayy Siddiqui) Bekhud (1857â€"1912)
- Shibli Nomani (Allama Shibli Nomani) (1857â€"1914)
- Muztar Khairabadi (1862-1927)
- Syed Ghulam Bhik Nairang (1875â€"1952)
- Hasrat Mohani (Syed Fazlul Hussain) Hasrat (1875â€"1951)
- Dil Shahjahanpuri (Zameer Hasan Khan) Dil (1875-1959)
- Allama Muhammad Iqbal (Allama Iqbal) Iqbal (1877-1938)
- Fani Badayuni (Shaukat Ali Khan) Fani (1879â€"1941)
- Seemab Akbarabadi (Ashiq Hussain) (1882â€"1951)
- Brij Narayan Chakbast, (1882â€"1926)
- Niaz Fatehpuri (Maulana Niyaz Muhammad Khan) (1882-1966)
- Yagana Changezi (Mirza Wajid Hussain Yaas) Yaas (1883â€"1956)
- Josh Malsiyani (Labhu Ram) Josh (1883-1976)
- Tilok Chand Mehroom (1887â€"1966)
- Qamar Jalalvi (1887-1968)
- Jigar Moradabadi (Ali Sikandar) Jigar (1890â€"1960)
- Raaz Chandpuri (Mohd. Sadiq) (1892â€"1969)
- Hakim Ahmad Shuja (1893-1969)
- Josh Malihabadi (Shabbir Hassan Khan) Josh (1894â€"1982)
- Muhammad Mustafa Jauhar Jauhar (1895- 1985)
- Firaq Gorakhpuri (Raghupati Sahay) Firaq (1896â€"1982)
- Ram Prasad Bismil (1897-1927)
- Abr Ahasani Gunnauri (Ahmed Baksh) Abr (1897-1973)
- Munavvar Lakhnavi Bisheshwar Prasad Munavvar (1897-1970)
1900
- Hafeez Jalandhari (Mohd.Hafeez) (1900â€"1982)
- Talib Chakwali Manohar Lal Kapur ‘Talib’ (1900-1988)
- Pandit Harichand Akhtar ('Akhtar') (1901â€"1958)
- Alam Muzaffarnagari(Muhammad Ishaaq) (1901â€"1969)
- Bismil Saeedi (1901-1977)
- Khushtar Girami(Dewan Ram Rakhamal Kalia) (1902â€"1988)
- Anand Narain Mulla (1901â€"1997)
- Zaheen Shah Taji (1902-1978)
- Syed Sajjad Zaheer (1904â€"1973)
- Akhtar Sheerani (Mohd.Dawood Khan) (1905â€"1948)
- Saghar Nizami (1905â€"1984)
- Gopal Mittal (1906-1993)
- Ratan Pandoravi Rala Ram 'Ratan' (1907-1998)
- Makhdum Muhiuddin (1908â€"1969)
- Arsh Malsiani (Bal Mukund) (1908â€"1979)
- Majaz (Asrar-ul-Haq) (1909â€"1955)
- Sayyid Ahmedullah Qadri Lisan ul Mulk(1909-1985)
1910
- Noon Meem Rashid (1910â€"1975)
- Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Faiz (1911â€"1984)
- Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah (1911â€"1984)
- Aijaz Siddiqi (1911â€"1978)
- Ravish Siddiqi (Ravish) (1911â€"1971)
- Nushoor Wahidi (1911â€"1981)
- Meeraji (1912â€"1949)
- Shifa Gwaliori (1912-1968)
- Shamim Karhani (1913â€"1975)
- Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi (1913â€"1986)
- Dr. Rafiq Hussain (1913â€"1990)
- Sahir Hoshiarpuri (1913â€"1994)
- Ali Sardar Jafri (1913â€"2000)
- Mir Gul Khan Nasir (1914â€"1983)
- Rais Amrohvi (1914-1988)
- Ehsan Danish (1914â€"1982)
- Jan Nisar Akhtar (1914â€"1976)
- Majeed Amjad (1914â€"1974)
- Sikandar Ali Wajd (1914â€"1983)
- Akhtar ul Iman (1915â€"1996)
- Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Nadeem (1916â€"2006)
- Zamir Jafri, Zamir (1916â€"1999)
- Shakeel Badayuni (1916â€"1970)
- Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee (1917â€"2005)
- Rishi Patialvi (Bam Dev Sharma) Rishi (1917-1999)
- Jagan Nath Azad (1918â€"2004)
- Kaifi Azmi (1918â€"2002)
- Majrooh Sultanpuri (1919â€"2000)
- Khumar Barabankvi, Khumar (1919â€"1999)
- Qateel Shifai, Qateel (1919â€"2001)
- Masud Husain Khan (1919-2010)
1920
- Ada Jafarey (1924â€")
- Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Sahar, Sahar (1920's-)
- Salaam Machhalishahari, Salaam (1921-1972)
- Sahir Ludhianvi, Sahir (1921â€"1980)
- Krishan Mohan,Krishan Lal Krishan Mohan (1922-2004)
- Wazir Agha,(1922-2010)
- Sulaiman Areeb (1922â€"1970)
- Nazish Pratapgarhi, Nazish (1924-1981)
- Nasir Kazmi, Nasir (1925â€"1972)
- Bekas Akbarabadi,â€M.G Gupta wrote Urdu anthology, Rahat-i-Ruh (2004),(1925-2011)
- Himayat Ali Shair, Shair (1926)
- Kanwal Ziai Hardayal Singh Datta (1927-2012)
- Naresh Kumar Shad (1927â€"1969)
- Ibn-e-Insha, Insha (1927â€"1978)
- Naeem Hashmi, (1919-2076)
- Sagar Siddiqui, (1928-1974)
- Shabnam Romani,Shabnam (1928â€"2009)
- Raja Mehdi Ali Khan (1928â€"1966)
- Munir Niazi (1928â€"2006)
- Habib Jalib (1928â€"1993)
- Dilawar Figar (1928â€"1998)
- Mazhar Imam (1928-2012)
- Wasif Ali Wasif (1929â€"1993)
- Rahi Masoom Raza (1925â€"1992)
1930
- Mustafa Zaidi (1930â€"1970)
- Harbans Bhalla (1930-1993)
- Ahmad Faraz (1931â€"2008)
- Jon Elia (1931â€"2003)
- Satyapal Anand (1931)
- Syed Amin Ashraf (1931)
- Zafar Iqbal (1932)
- Shakeb Jalali (1932â€"1966)
- Syed Al-e-Ahmad (1932â€"1999)
- Mohsin Bhopali (1932â€"2007)
- Muzaffar Warsi (1933-2011)
- Syed Waheed Ashraf (1933)
- Waheed Akhtar (1934â€"1996)
- Sudarshan Faakir (1934-2008)
- Murtaza Birlas (1934)
- Mohsin Zaidi (1935-2003)
- Anwar Masood (1935)
- Aftab Iqbal Shamim (1936)
- Akhlaq Mohammed Khan (Shahryar) (1936-2012)
- Gulzar (1936)
- Shahzad A. Rizvi (1937)
- Unwan Chishti Iftikharul Hasan Unwan (1937-2004)
- Nida Fazli (1938)
- Dr.Najmul Hoda (1938)
- Makhmoor Saeedi (1938-2010)
- Syed Mahmood Khundmiri (1938-2011)
- Obaidullah Aleem (1939â€"1997)
- Allama Talib Jauhari (1939- )
1940
- Mahmood Shaam (1940)
- Kishwar Naheed (1940)
- Jazib Qureshi (1940)
- Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi (1941)
- Ahfaz ur Rahman (1942)
- Akhtar Raza Khan (1943)
- Iftikhar Arif (1943)
- Shamim Farooqui (1943-2014)
- Amjad Islam Amjad (1944)
- Ghulam Muhammad Qasir, Qasir (1944â€"1999)
- Bashir Badr (1945)
- Javed Akhtar (1945)
- Anwer Zahidi (1946)
- Afzal Ahmed Syed (1946)
- Shamim Hashimi (1947)
- Saleem Kausar (1947)
- Syed Ali Akhtar Rizvi, Sha'oor(1948-2002)
- Muhammad Izhar ul Haq (1948)
- Tanwir Phool (1948)
- Fehmida Riaz (1948)
1950
- Rahat Indori (1950)
- Zahid Abrol (1950)
- Jamal Ehsani (1951-1998)
- Ashfaq Hussain (1951)
- Ehsan Sehgal (1951)
- Haider Qureshi (1952]
- Munawwar Rana (1952)
- Parveen Shakir (1952â€"1994)
- Kazim Jarwali (1955)
- Noon Meem Danish (1958)
1960
- Samina Raja (1961)
- Khurshid Eqbal (1962)
- Raees Warsi (1963)
- Noshi Gilani (1964)
- Harris Khalique (1966)
- Saeed Khan (1966)
- Idris Azad (1969)
- Fareed Parbati (1961)
- Shamim Farooqui
1970
- Akhtar Raza Saleemi (1974)
- Irfan Nasirabadi(1975)
- Sarim Momin (1978)
- Irshad Kamil (1971)
- Farhan Akhtar (1974)
- Zal Saadi (1970)
1980
- Aseem Ahmed Abbasee (1981)
- Moid Rasheedi (1988)
- Yaseen Anwer (1989)
Hindu/Sikh poets of Urdu language
- [[Maharaja Chandu Lal (1766 - 15 April 1845)
- Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim, (1811â€"1845)
- Brij Narayan Chakbast, (1882â€"1926)
- Tilok Chand Mehroom (1887â€"1966)
- Firaq Gorakhpuri (Raghupati Sahay) Firaq (1896â€"1982)
- Ram Prasad Bismil (1897-1927)
- Pandit Harichand Akhtar ('Akhtar') (1901â€"1958)
- Mohan Sahai Anwar (1901)
- Chand Narain Rainah Chand (1901)
- Anand Narain Mulla (1901)
- Durga Das Qasir (1902)
- Khushtar Girami(Dewan Ram Rakhamal Kalia) (1902â€"1988)
- Parmanand Sarup Asar Sikandarabad (1902)
- Balwant Sahai Kanwal (1904)
- Banwari Lal Nasim (1904)
- Bagirath Lal Zakhmi Hisari (1905)
- Ram Kishan Tamanna Anbalwi (1906)
- Gopal Mittal (1906-1993)
- Ratan Pandoravi Rala Ram 'Ratan' (1907-1998)
- Naubahar Sabir (1907)
- Arsh Malsiani (Bal Mukund) (1908â€"1979)
- Roshan Patialvi (1909)
- Ranbir Singh Aamir Abadabadi (1910)
- Shiv Charan Das Akhtar Bhangalvi (1910)
- Shish Chandar Talib Dehlawi (1910)
- Manohar Lal Manohar (1910)
- Roshan Patialvi (1909)
- Sahir Hoshiarpuri (1913)
- Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi (1913â€"1986)
- Prem Lal Shifa Dehlawi (1914)
- R.D. Wafa Patialwi (1916)
- Rishi Patialvi (Bam Dev Sharma) Rishi (1917-1999)
- Jagan Nath Azad (1918â€"2004)
- Jagdesh Mehta Dard (1918)
- Abu Hari (1919)
- Shiv Parshad Vishasht Javed (1920)
- Thakur Kahin Singh Jamal (1922)
- Krishan Mohan,Krishan Lal Krishan Mohan (1922-2004)
- Sukh Dev Singh Qateel (1922)
- Ved Parkash Shabab (1923)
- Chandar Parkash Jauhar (1923)
- Vishva Nath Dard Kalavi (1924)
- [[Bhupendra Nath Kaushik (July 7, 1924 â€" October 27, 2007)
- [[Krishna Kumar Sharma (1924 â€" 2001)
- [[Verma Malik (13 April 1925 â€" 15 March 2009)
- Inder Jeet Gandhi (1926)
- Anand Mohan Gulzar Zatshi Dehlavi (1926)
- Inder Saroop Dut Nadan (1927)
- Kanwal Ziai Hardayal Singh Datta (1927-2012)
- Naresh Kumar Shad (1927â€"1969)
- Ram Das Nadar (1928)
- Manohar Sharma Saghar Palampuri (1928)
- Mahesh Patiyalvi (1929)
- Kali Das Gupta Raza (1929)
- Amrit Laal Ishrat (1930)
- Harbans Bhalla (1930-1993)
- Raj Narain Raz (1930)
- Dilip Singh Badal (1931)
- Satyapal Anand (1931)
- Pirthivi Rajkapoor Khumar Jalandhari (1931)
- Om Dut Talib (1931)
- Dharam Pal Aaqil Ahori (1932)
- N. N. Najmi (1932)
- Shabab Lalat (1933)
- Sampuran Singh Gulzar (1933)
- [[Raj Pathria (born March 30, 1933)
- [[Dushyant Kumar (1 September 1933 â€" 30 December 1975)
- Sudarshan Faakir (1934-2008)
- [[Mohinder Pratap Chand ( 1935)
- Gori Nandan Singh Abid Manavri (1938)
- Prabha Devi Kasheep Shabnam (1938)
- Nira Nargis (1941)
- Kanta Guruvor Shabnam (1945)
- Braham Dut Huma Harnalwi (1946)
- [[Jayant Parmer (born October 11, 1954)
Contemporary poets with unknown date of birth
- Kaif Bhopali
- Tanveer Sipra
- Sayeed Quadri
- Hanif Tarin
- Khalid Irfan
See also
- List of Pakistani poets
- List of Urdu language writers