Eduard Strauss (15 March 1835 - 28 December 1916) was an Austrian composer who, together with brothers Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss formed the Strauss musical dynasty who dominated the Viennese light music world and created many waltzes and polkas for the Austrian emperors and his courtiers to dance to. He was affectionately known in his family as 'Edi'.

He was generally recognised as a dance music conductor rather than as a composer in the Strauss family and his popularity was always overshadowed by that of his elder brothers. Realising this, he deliberately stamped his own mark with the quick polka, known in German as the "polka-schnell". Among the more popular polkas that he ever penned for the Strauss Orchestra of which he continued to conduct until its disbandment on 13 February 1901 were "Bahn Frei" op. 45 , "Ausser Rand und Band" op.168, and "Ohne Bremse" op. 238. He also found time to pen a few lovely waltzes although not many of them survived to be even considered for the modern concert repertoire of which the most famous is the "Doctrinen" op.79. His style is, however, individual and does not attempt to emulate the works of his other brothers nor his contemporaries.

His musical career was also pervaded with rivalry not only from his brothers but also from the military bandmaster and dance music composer, Karl Michael Ziehrer. This rival even formed a rival orchestra called "Formerly Eduard Strauss Orchestra" and began giving concerts in Vienna under this new title. Eduard Strauss successfully filed a court action against Ziehrer for the improper and misleading use of his name. The rivalry was to extend until 1901 when the Strauss Orchestra was disbanded.

He married Maria Klenkhart on 8 January 1863 and had two sons, Johann Strauss III and Josef Eduard Strauss . The eldest son Johann Strauss III was to lead the Strauss revival well into the 20th century and ensure that future generations would continue to appreciate the works of his esteemed relatives.

However, personal setbacks in the 1890s such as the death of brother Johann Strauss II in 1899 and his realization that his immediate family had squandered his personal fortune which was painstakingly amassed during his entire career as a musician has led him to decide on retirement but not without going on tour to North America to compensate his lost fortune. Finally, in 1901, he disbanded the Strauss Orchestra and returned to Vienna where he died in 1916. In the last 15 years before his death, he retired from public life and was never to become an active participant of Vienna's musical activities although he did document his family memoirs in a book 'Erinnerungen' published in 1906 where he recounts his family's musical pursuits.