Qatif or Al-Qatif (also spelled Qateef or Al-Qateef; Arabic: ??????? Al-Qa?if) is a historic, coastal oasis region located on the western shore of the Persian Gulf in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, from Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahad International Airport in the west. It covers a large area that includes the town of Qatif as well many smaller towns and villages.

Qatif (Arabic: ?????? al-QaTiif) is a historic coastal city and oasis located on the western shore of the Arabian/Persian Gulf in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, some 13km north of the port city of Dammam and southwest of major oil port Ras Tanura. The oasis covers a large area that includes many other traditional Saudi villages such as Saihat, Safwa, Anak, Abu maan, AlNabya, Tarut Island and Awamia. Qatif is famous for its dates and fish. It is one of the centers of the Eastern Province’s large Shi’ite Muslim communities and as a result has lived in somewhat precarious relations politically with the Sunni government of the country. Blessed with abundant fresh-water springs, the historic oasis area shows its first archeological evidence of settlement beginning about 3500 BC, and it functioned for centuries as the main town and port in this region of the Gulf. In fact, it was called Cateus by the Greeks, and some early European maps even labeled the entire present-day Gulf as the “Sea of El Catif“. Qatif oasis and the nearby island of Tarut are some of the most interesting tourist and archeological sites in the Kingdom. Up until 1521 Qatif belonged to the political entity known as Bahrain, along with Al-Hasa and the the present-day Bahrain islands. Traditionally reliant on agriculture, Qatif has become famous in the oil industry recently, mainly due to the mega Qatif Project. Qatif is a historic, coastal oasis region located on the western shore of the Persian Gulf in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, from Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahad International Airport in the west. It covers a large area that includes the town of Qatif as well many smaller towns and villages.

The historic oasis area shows its first archeological evidence of settlement beginning about 3500 BC. It was known by other names, such as Al-Khatt (Arabic: ???????), immortalized in the poetry of `Antara ibn Shaddad, Tarafa ibn Al-`Abd, Bashar ibn Burd (in his famous Ba'yya), and others. The word "Khatty" became the preferred "kenning" for "spear" in traditional poetic writing until the dawn of the modern era, supposedly because the region was famous for spear making, just as "muhannad" ("of India") was the preferred kenning for "sword". The older name also survives as the eponym of several well-known local families ("Al-Khatti", spelled variously in English). Qatif functioned for centuries as the main town and port in this region of the Gulf. In fact, it was called Cateus by the Greeks, and some early European maps even labeled the entire present-day Persian Gulf as the "Sea of El Catif". Qatif oasis and the nearby island of Tarout are some of the most interesting tourist and archeological sites in the Kingdom, which reflects the importance of the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula in the past.