Cobitis is a palearctic genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. It contains the typical spiny loaches, including the well-known spined loach (C. taenia) of temperate western Eurasia. As of early 2012, the genus contained 69 named species. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally south of the range of Cobitis, are nowadays separated in Sabanejewia.