软甲纲（学名：Malacostraca）是节肢动物门甲壳亚门中的一个纲，是这个亚门中物种数量最多的纲。这个纲中包括人们很熟悉的动物如十足目（如螃蟹、龙虾、虾等）、虾蛄、磷虾等。它还包括物种数量众多的端足目以及唯一的一个主要生存在陆地上的甲壳类动物等足目动物（如土鳖等）。这个纲共有2.2万多个物种，占所有甲壳亚门的三分之二，所有比较大型的甲壳动物均属于这个纲。软甲纲最早出现于寒武纪。

近年来对甲壳亚门的分类的讨论有争议，有些学者将软甲纲看作纲，有些则将它看作是一个亚纲。

Malacostraca is the largest of the six classes of crustaceans, containing about 40,000 living species, divided among 16 orders. Its members, the malacostracans, display a great diversity of body forms and include crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, woodlice, scuds (Amphipoda), mantis shrimp and many other less familiar animals. They are abundant in all marine environments and have colonised freshwater and terrestrial habitats. They are segmented animals, united by a common body plan comprising 20 body segments (rarely 21), and divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen.