In chemistry, a vanadate is an anionic coordination complex of vanadium. Often vanadate refers to oxoanions of vanadium, most of which exist in its highest oxidation state of +5. The complexes [V(CN)₆]³⁻ and [V₂Cl₉]³⁻ are referred to as hexacyanovanadate(III) and nonachlorodivanadate(III), respectively.

A simple vanadate ion is the tetrahedral orthovanadate anion, VO3−4 (which is also called vanadate(V)), which is present in e.g. sodium orthovanadate and in solutions of V₂O₅ in strong base (pH > 13). Conventionally this ion is represented with a single double bond, however this is a resonance form as the ion is a regular tetrahedron with four equivalent oxygen atoms.

Additionally a range of polyoxovanadate ions exist which include discrete ions and "infinite" polymeric ions. There are also vanadates, such as rhodium vanadate, RhVO₄, which has a statistical rutile structure where the Rh³⁺ and V⁵⁺ ions randomly occupy the Ti⁴⁺ positions in the rutile lattice, that do not contain a lattice of cations and balancing vanadate anions but are mixed oxides.

In chemical nomenclature when vanadate forms part of the name, it indicates that the compound contains an anion with a central vanadium atom, e.g. ammonium hexafluorovanadate is a common name for the compound [NH₄]₃[VF₆] with the IUPAC name of ammonium hexafluoridovanadate(III).