Kankan is a town on the River Milo in eastern Guinea. It was founded by the Soninké people in the seventeenth century and became capital of the Babé Empire and an important trading centre. It was defeated by Almamy Samory Touré in 1879 and occupied by the French in 1891.

The town is known for its university, for its religious scholars and its mango trees. It is also a port and is home to an airport.