A kadiluk (Ottoman Turkish: قاضیـلق, kadıluk) was the jurisdiction of a kadi,^[1] an Islamic judge under the Ottoman Empire. They typically consisted of a major city and its surrounding villages, although some kadis occupied other positions within the imperial administration.^[2]

Kadis oversaw administration of imperial justice, which was particularly important for maintaining order and local control over the sipahis granted fiefs (timar) during the early Ottoman expansion.^{[citation needed]}

Within the imperial administration, kadiluks also initially functioned as the kazas, the main subdivisions of the sanjaks,^[3] with the kadi overseeing his district's taxation and military conscription.^[4][5] These functions were eventually handed over to a separate official called the kaymakam, and the empire's kazas were fully distinguished from its kadiluks in 1864 as part of the Tanzimat reforms.^[3]

• Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire
• Sanjak
• Agaluk
• Qadaa
• Qadiyat