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Brotherhood and unity (in Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and in Serbian: Bratstvo i jedinstvo (cyrillic form: Братство и јединство), in Macedonian: Братство и единство, in Slovenian: Bratstvo in enotnost, in Albanian: Vëllazërim dhe bashkim) was the catch phrase for the official policy of inter-ethnic relations in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It proscribed that all Yugoslav ethnic groups, Serbs, Croats, Muslims by nationality, Macedonians, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Albanians and others should be recognized as equal national groups and coexist peacefully in the federation.

The policy was sustained by education. Open expression of ethnic nationalist or irredentist ideas was suppressed and punished according to severity, with sanctions ranging from reprimands and fines, to job loss (and unability to find a job later), house arrest, imprisonment and exile.

Several prominent persons from former Yugoslavia were imprisoned for activities which were deemed to threaten brotherhood and unity. Among them were the late former presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović and of Croatia Franjo Tuđman, current Croatian president Stjepan Mesić, Croatian army general of Albanian descent Rahim Ademi and many others. One Kosovo Albanian, Adem Demaci was imprisoned for almost 30 years for criticising the position of Albanians in Yugoslavia.

The policy also led to the adoption of national quota systems ("kriterij republika i pokrajina") in all public institutions, including economic organizations, in which national groups were represented by their republic or province's national demographic composition.

Although the policy sought to place all national groups at an equal footing, critics from smaller minority groups, particularly Albanians, charged that the Yugoslav national system unfairly categorized Albanians as a "nationality" (narodnost) even though Albanians outnumbered Montenegrins, Macedonians and Slovenians in Yugoslavia, who were constitutionally recognized by the superior title of "nation" (narod).

Throughout former Yugoslavia many factories, schools and sporting teams used to be named "Brotherhood and unity", as well as the Ljubljana-Zagreb-Beograd-Skopje highway (see Highway "Brotherhood and Unity").