A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, Antarctic land claims, and post-colonial land claims.

Land claims is sometimes used as a term when referring to disputed territories like Western Sahara or to refer to the claims of displaced persons.

In the colonial times of the United States American men could claim a piece of land for themselves and the claim has different level of merit according to the de facto conditions:

1. claim without any action on the ground
2. claim with (movable) property of the claimant on the ground
3. claim with the claimant visiting the land
4. claim with claimant living on the land.

Today, only small areas of unclaimed land remain, yet large plots of land with little economical value (e.g., in Alaska) can still be bought for very low prices. Also, in certain parts of the world, land can still be obtained by making productive use of it.