The Governor of Kauaʻi was the royal governor or viceroy of the island of Kauaʻi and island of Niʻihau during the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Governor of Kauaʻi was usually a Hawaiian chief or prince and could even be a woman. The Governor had authority over the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, and it was up to the governor to appoint lieutanant governors to assisted them. The governor had replaced the old alii aimokus of the islands, but the sovereignty remained with the king. The first governor was the last king of, Kaumualiʻi and it was not until his death in 1824 that Queen Kaʻahumanu and King Kamehameha II took control from his sons.
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In the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii it states:
There shall be four governors over these Hawaiian Islands - one for Hawaiʻi - one for Maui and the Islands adjacent - one for Oʻahu, and one for Kauaʻi and the adjacent Islands. All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject to the King.
The prerogatives of the governors and their duties, shall be as follows: Each governor shall have the general direction of the several tax gatherers of his island, and shall support them in the execution of all their orders which he considers to have been properly given, but shall pursue a course according to law, and not according to his own private views. He also shall preside over all the judges of his island, and shall see their sentences executed as above. He shall also appoint the judges and give them their certificates of office.
All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject not only to the King, but also to the Premier.
The governor shall be the superior over his particular island or islands. He shall have charge of the munitions of war, under the direction of the King, however, and the Premier. He shall have charge of the forts, the soldiery, the arms and all the implements of war. He shall receive the government dues and shall deliver over the same to the Premier. All important decisions rest with him in times of emergency, unless the King or Premier be present. He shall have charge of all the King's business on the island, the taxation, new improvements to be extended, and plans for the increase of wealth, and all officers shall be subject to him. He shall also have power to decide all questions, and transact all island business which is not by law assigned to others.
When either of the governors shall decease, then all the chiefs shall assemble at such place as the King shall appoint, and shall nominate a successor of the deceased governor, and whosoever they shall nominate and be approved by the King, he shall be the new governor.
| # | Name | Picture | Birth | Death | Assumed Office | Left Office | Years in office | Notes | Monarch |
| Vassal ruled by ex-King Kaumualiʻi of Kauai from 1810 to September 16, 1821. | |||||||||
| 1 | Maihinenui | Said to be the sister of Kaumualii | Kamehameha II | ||||||
| 2 | Kahalaiʻa Luanuʻu | ? | April 27, 1826 | circa 1824 | circa 1825 | 1 | Kamehameha II | ||
| Kamehameha III | |||||||||
| 3 | Kaikioʻewa | circa 1765 | circa 1839 | circa 1825 | April 4 or 10, 1839 | 14 | Kamehameha III | ||
| 4 | Emelia Keaweamahi | April 4 or 10, 1839 | circa 1842 | 3 | Governor Kaikioʻewa's widow | Kamehameha III | |||
| 5 | Anna Keahikuni i Kekauʻōnohi | circa 1805 | June 2, 1851 | circa 1842 | circa 1845 | 3 | Kamehameha III | ||
| 6 | Paul Kanoa | circa 1802 | November 10, 1885 | October 21, 1846 | January 4, 1877 | 31 | Kamehameha III | ||
| Kamehameha IV | |||||||||
| Kamehameha V | |||||||||
| Lunalilo | |||||||||
| Kalākaua | |||||||||
| 7 | John Edward Bush | February 15, 1842 | June 28, 1906 | January 4, 1877 | circa 1880 | 3 | Kalākaua | ||
| 8 | Frederick William Kahapula Beckley | November 26, 1845 | January 7, 1881 | August 16, 1880 | January 7, 1881 | 1 | Kalākaua | ||
| 9 | Paul Puhiula Kanoa | June 10, 1832 | March 18, 1895 | January 12, 1881 | circa 1886 | 5 | Governor Kanoa's hānai son | Kalākaua | |
| 10 | Lanihau | July 31, 1886 | circa 1888 | 2 | Kalākaua | ||||
| Vacant | |||||||||
| 11 | William Hyde Rice | July 23, 1846 | June 15, 1924 | February 8, 1892 | February 28, 1893 | 2 | Governor Kanoa's stepson | Liliuokalani | |