核糖核酸酶P（Ribonuclease P，简写为RNase P）是一种核糖核酸酶。核糖核酸酶P也是一种核酶，即由一个RNA分子发挥催化活性，它是第一个被发现的蛋白质以外具有催化活性的生物大分子。它的功能是剪切tRNA分子中RNA上多余的或前体的多余串行。它的发现者悉尼·奥尔特曼在1970年代在研究前体tRNA中发现它可以剪切RNA的5'端，悉尼·奥尔特曼也因此获得了****年度的诺贝尔化学奖。近期的研究发现核糖核酸酶P也具有一些新的功能，例如人类细胞核中的核糖核酸酶P对于正常并有效地转录多种非编码RNA（包括tRNA、5S rRNA、SRP RNA和U6 snRNA）的基因是必要的，这些基因是由RNA聚合酶III（人类细胞中三类主要的RNA聚合酶之一）来进行转录。

Ribonuclease P (EC3.1.26.5, RNase P) is a type of ribonuclease which cleaves RNA. RNase P is unique from other RNases in that it is a ribozyme – a ribonucleic acid that acts as a catalyst in the same way that a protein based enzyme would. Its function is to cleave off an extra, or precursor, sequence of RNA on tRNA molecules. Further, RNase P is one of two known multiple turnover ribozymes in nature (the other being the ribosome), the discovery of which earned Sidney Altman and Thomas Cech the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in ****: in the 1970s, Altman discovered the existence of precursor tRNA with flanking sequences and was the first to characterize RNase P and its activity in processing of the 5' leader sequence of precursor tRNA. Recent findings also reveal that RNase P has a new function. It has been shown that human nuclear RNase P is required for the normal and efficient transcription of various small noncoding RNAs, such as tRNA, 5S rRNA, SRP RNA and U6 snRNA genes, which are transcribed by RNA polymerase III, one of three major nuclear RNA polymerases in human cells.