Punitaqui is a town and commune of Chile in the Limarí Province.

Punitaqui was once part of the Ovalle Department before the administrative restructuring of 1976.

On October 15, 1997 the town was nearly demolished by an estimated 7.1 M_w earthquake. Damage ranged from as far north as the Antofagasta Region to the southern Araucanía Region. Both Santiago and Valparaíso Region lost telephone service and radio transmissions. The quake left 8 people dead, 360 injured and 59,913 homeless, concentrating most of those in the provinces of Elqui and Limarí.