Turkic tribal confederation of Central Asia, from whose ranks came the Qarakhanid dynasty.

The origins of the Qarluq Turkmens are somewhat obscure. About 745 they rose in rebellion against the Türküt, then the dominant tribal confederation in the region, and established a new tribal confederation with the Turkic Uighur and Basmil tribes.

The internal political organization of the Qarluq confederation was based on a system of social organization known as dual kingship. The western, paramount branch of the Qarluq confederation was centred at Balāsāghūn (now in Kyrgyzstan). The eastern branch was centred at Kashgar (now in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China). Each branch had its own tribal chief and a distinct hierarchy of offices and functions, based on various sections of the tribes. Upon promotion from a lower to a higher office, an officeholder would change his regnal name; thus certain names were always held by the holders of certain offices. The eastern tribal leader was always called arslan (“lion”), while the western tribal chief, the paramount leader of the Qarluq, held the title of bughra (“camel”).

The western branch of the Qarluq came into increasing contact with the Iranian Sāmānid (Sāmānid Dynasty) dynasty in the 9th century. With the disintegration of the Sāmānid polity at the end of the 10th century, the Qarluq established themselves as the new ruling dynasty in Transoxania.