The Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española, RAE) is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone (Spanish-speaking) nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies. The RAE's emblem is a fiery crucible, and its motto is "Limpia, fija y da esplendor" ("[It] cleans, sets, and casts splendour").

The RAE dedicates itself to the linguistic planning by enacting legislation aimed at promoting linguistic unity within and between the various territories, to ensure a common standard in accordance with its founding charter: "To ensure the changes that it undergoes [...] do not break the essential unity that maintains the entire Hispanic sphere. "

The proposed language guidelines are shown in a number of various works. The priorities are the dictionary (DRAE), edited periodically twenty-two times since 1780 until today, and grammar, edited in December 2009.

The RAE is a major publisher of dictionaries and grammars, and has a formal procedure for admitting words to its publications. Its website includes an online dictionary and other resources, all in Spanish. Its most famous publication is the Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española (Dictionary of the Spanish Language of the Royal Spanish Academy), the "DRAE".

The RAE headquarters is where it performs its duties. The headquarters, opened in 1894, is located on Calle Felipe IV, 4, in the neighborhood of Los Jerónimos. The Center for the Studies of the Royal Spanish Academy, opened in 2007, is located at Calle Serano 187-189.