François Poulletier de la Salle (September 30, 1719 – March 20, 1788) was a French doctor and chemist. In about 1758, he isolated for the first time the crystals from cholesterol. As his work was never published, attribution and the dating are known only roughly, but they were quoted by his collaborators, in particular Pierre-Joseph Macquer and Felix Vicq-d'Azyr. He was born in Lyon and died in Paris.