Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani (ca.1788 - 1878) was a ruler in Qatar.
Mohammed was born in Fuwairat and upon the death of his father, Thani bin Mohammed, he became the leader of his tribe at Fuwairat.
In 1847, the Al Thani Family moved from Fuwairat to Doha, under the leadership of Mohammed.
Eventually, Mohammed extended his influence throughout Qatar and strengthened his position externally by making an alliance with Faisal Bin Turki, the Amir of the second Saudi state, who himself paid a visit to Qatar in early 1851.
By early 1860s Shaikh Mohammed bin Thani emerged as the most important figure in Qatar.
On 12 September 1868, he signed a treaty with Colonel Lewis Pelly, British resident in the Persian Gulf, which recognized the independence of Qatar.
In 1871, he made a request to the Ottomans at Al-Hasa for protection against any external attack and in the following year Ottoman occupation of Doha had been completed.
In the year 1876, he handed over the administrative responsibility to his son Shaikh Jassim due to old age.
Mohammed died in 1878.