Isabel Hilton (born Aberdeen, 1949) is a Scottish Journalist and Broadcaster based in London.

She was educated at Edinburgh University where she studied Chinese to post-graduate level. As a result of being Secretary of the China-Scottish Association, based at her University, Hilton was placed on MI5s "Christmas Tree" list, which meant that she was blocked from BBC employment in 1976. She joined the Daily Express the following year.

Having been the Latin American affairs editor at the Sunday Times, she choose not to move to Wapping with her paper and joined the Independent in 1986 and filled the same role there. She joined the Guardian in 1997, where she contributes a regular column. Hilton has presented The World Tonight 1995-98 on Radio 4 and from 1999 has presented Nightwaves on Radio 3.

She is married to the distinguished Journalist Neal Ascherson , with whom she has a son and daughter.