This list of Arctic expeditions is a timeline of historic Arctic exploration and explorers of the Arctic.

15th century

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

Early Period (1800–1818)

Ross, Parry and Franklin (1818–1846)

1820s

1830s and 1840s

Search for Franklin (1846–1857)

Nordenskiöld Period (1857–1879)

1860s

1870s

Race for the Pole (1879–1900)

International Polar Year

1890s

20th century

Amundsen and the Heroic Age (1900–1925)

Disputed Polar Claims

Byrd and the Aircraft Age (1925–1958)

Polar Conquest

Second International Polar Year

Post-War

Era of Satellites, Submarines and Icebreakers (1958–onward)

21st century

Footnotes