Edward L. Dreyer (1940–2007) was an American historian known for his work and expertise on the history of China's Ming dynasty.

Dreyer was born in 1940 in San Diego. He earned his BA in history from Harvard University in 1961 and his Ph.D. from Harvard with a thesis on "The Emergence of Chu Yuan-chang, 1360–65." His thesis advisors were John Fairbank and Lien-sheng Yang.

Dreyer spent most of his career as a professor of history at the University of Miami. He authored a number of books and papers on various aspects of the Ming state, including its formative years and its military and naval history, including a chapter, "Military origins of Ming China" in The Cambridge History of China (vol. 7, part 1).^[1][2]

Dreyer was a leading global authority on the Battle of Lake Poyang and the expeditions of Zheng He.

Dreyer was married to June Teufel Dreyer, a China expert at the University of Miami and president of the American Association for Chinese Studies (AACS).