Ballistic shields are shields designed to stop or deflect bullets fired at their carrier.

Although modern ballistic shields are specifically designed to protect against handgun, long gun, and shotgun projectile threats, many will additionally protect against most types of stabbing or cutting-type weaponry, and hand-thrown or launched projectiles such as rocks and arrows. Reputable ballistic shield manufacturers design and produce ballistic shields to be in compliance with specific government ballistic protection levels, including those promulgated by the United States National Institute of Justice (NIJ) ballistic materials test protocol NIJ-Std-0108.01, which destructively tests free-standing armor configurations with projectile threats appropriate to design capabilities.