Karl Georg Theodor Kotschy (15 April 1813 - 11 June 1866) was an Austrian botanist and explorer who was a native of Ustroń, in Austrian Silesia. He was the son of theologian Carl Friedrich Kotschy (1789-1856).
From 1836 to 1862 he performed extensive botanical research throughout the Middle East and northeastern Africa in which he collected over 300,000 botanical specimens. In 1836-38 he accompanied geologist Joseph Russegger (1802-1863) on a scientific trip to Cilicia, Syria, Egypt and Sudan. Afterwards he travelled to Kurdufan (1839), Cyprus (1840), and Asia Minor (1841); and during 1842-43 he undertook an expedition to Persia. Later he performed botanical investigations in Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon (1855); and also in Cyprus, Asia Minor and Kurdistan (1859). In 1862 he performed additional botanical research in Cyprus and Syria.
The plant genus Kotschya from the family Fabaceae is named in his honor. His name is also associated with a species of gecko, Kotschy’s gecko (Cyrtopodion kotschyi).