DigiDestined (選ばれし子供達, Erabareshi Kodomotachi, lit. "Chosen Children") are characters in the Digimon media franchise who have been chosen by certain beings to protect the Digital World, a plane which originated from data produced by Earth's telecommunications networks. This plane is often beset by evil forces, and is closely linked to Earth; saving the Digital World usually saves the Earth as well. The term is primarily used in Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, and Digimon Frontier, though it is sometimes used for the protagonists of the other settings in the Digimon franchise. All DigiDestined are partnered with a Digimon, and possess a Digivice; however, these are not defining characteristics, as the "Tamers" in Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 and Digimon Tamers had the same characteristics and were not considered DigiDestined.

While there are many heroic Digimon who can fight to save their world, a DigiDestined child enables their partner to more quickly grow in power by Digivolving to higher levels of power. This ability to grow quickly allows the DigiDestined's Digimon to quickly surpass the most powerful of enemies, making them instrumental in saving the worlds.

The Original DigiDestined

Never seen, nor revealed in great length, it was revealed in Digimon Adventure that another group of children were chosen to be DigiDestined even before the group in that series had ever been called upon. They were in fact the first to defeat and seal away "a great evil" behind the same Firewall.