Test Valley is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. The council is based in the borough's largest town of Andover. The borough also contains the town of Romsey and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. A small part of the borough at its southern end lies within the New Forest National Park, and part of the borough north of Andover lies within the North Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The neighbouring districts are Basingstoke and Deane, Winchester, Eastleigh, Southampton, New Forest, Wiltshire and West Berkshire.

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts which were all abolished at the same time:^[2]

• Andover Municipal Borough
• Andover Rural District
• Romsey Municipal Borough
• Romsey and Stockbridge Rural District

The new district was named Test Valley after the River Test which flows through the area.^[3] The district was awarded borough status on 22 October 1976, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.^[4]

Test Valley Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Hampshire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[7]

In the part of the borough within the New Forest National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the New Forest National Park Authority. The borough council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 22-person National Park Authority.^[8]

Test Valley covers some 250 square miles (650 km²) of western Hampshire, stretching from boundaries with Southampton in the south to near Newbury in the north. Test Valley is a predominantly rural area. It includes part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The River Test is the centrepiece of the Test Valley; the river is a chalk stream of particular beauty known for its fishing, salmon and trout, which Lord Crickhowell (onetime chairman of the National Rivers Authority) said "should be treated as a great work of art or music". Stockbridge is home of the Houghton Fishing Club, an exclusive fishing club founded in 1822, which meets in the Grosvenor Hotel.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Test Valley were the 8th most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 26.9% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.^[16]

In March 2012 Test Valley was ranked 14th best rural area to live out of 119 local authority areas in Great Britain by the Halifax. This was based on factors including employment and income levels, the weather, health and life expectancy, education, crime, broadband access and other things.^[17][18]

The whole borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Andover and Romsey have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Whilst Stockbridge is a post town it has a parish council rather than a town council. Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council. The parishes of Frenchmoor and West Tytherley share a grouped parish council.^[19]

• Test Valley Arts Foundation is local charitable trust which exists to promote arts and local artists in the borough of Test Valley.