town and suburb of Łódź, in Łódzkie województwo (province), central Poland, in the Łódź Highlands on the Dobrzynka River. The second most important town in the surrounding industrial area, it lies on the Łódź-Wrocław rail line and is a major textile centre.

The oldest community in the region, Pabianice was first settled in the 11th century and was granted town rights in 1297. Because it lay on the trade route between Kraków and Gdańsk (Danzig), it prospered. A late 16th-century Renaissance castle in the town now houses a museum. Pop. (2002) 72,974.