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The Temne people are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. They live primarily in the Northern Province and they make up 30% of Sierra Leone's total population. Temnes migrated from the North into what is now Sierra Leone in the late 15th or early 16th century, seeking access to new trade with the Portuguese that was developing along the Atlantic coast. They followed the Rokel River from its upper reaches to the Sierra Leone River, the giant estuary of the Rokel River and Port Loko Creek which forms the largest natural harbor in the African continent.

Historians believe the Temnes were involved in the long-distance kola nut trade during the period of the Mali and Songai Empires when West African trade was directed north across the Sahara Desert, and that they used their commercial expertise gained during that earlier period into the new coastal trade when the Europeans arrived. The English word "cola" (as in Coca-Cola, which originally contained extracts of the kola nut), is said to derive from the Temne word aŋ-kola (kola nut). The Temne speak a language in the Atlantic sub-family that closely resembles the Sherbro language spoken in Sierra Leone and the Baga language spoken in the Republic of Guinea .

Today, the Temne are rice farmers, marine fishermen, and traders. Temne culture revolves around the paramount chiefs and the secret societies, especially the men's Poro society and the women's Bondo society. The most important Temne rituals focus on the coronation and funerals of paramount chiefs and the initiation of new secret society members. Most Temnes are staunch Muslims though, like other West Africans, they combine their Islamic faith with a strong adherence to traditional African religious beliefs and practices.

Sierra Leone's national politics centers on the competition between the north, dominated by the Temne and their neighbors and allies, the Limba, and the south dominated by the Mende and their political allies, the Sherbro, Kissi, Kono, etc. Temne culture places great emphasis on individualism, hard work, and personal initiative. Indeed, Sierra Leoneans sometimes refer to their Temne neighbors affectionately as "Germans" because of their reputation for aggressiveness.

Although many Temne have converted to Islam, and Christianity, they still practice their traditional religion, as well. For example, Kono worship and pray to dead ancestors. They believe the ancestors are present during every activity, including eating, sleeping, and dancing. The Kono are also superstitious and use curses, omens, charms, and magic in their daily lives.

The Hut Tax War of 1898 was a war initiated by Temne chief Bai Bureh against British colonialists in 1898. The cause of the war was the perceived overtaxation of the Temne by British tax-collectors.

Britain's imposition of a hut tax sparked off two rebellions in the hinterland of Sierra Leone in 1898, by one by the Temne, led by Bai Bureh, the other by the Mende, led by Momoh Jah. To pay for the privilege of British administration, the military governor, Colonel Frederic Carthew, had decreed that the inhabitants of the new "protectorate" should be taxed on the size of their huts. The owner of a four-roomed hut would pay ten shillings a year, those with smaller huts would pay five shillings. Colonel Cardew was not an administrator, but a professional soldier who had spent years in India and South Africa. First imposed on January 1, 1898, the hut tax aroused immediate and intense opposition, led in the first instance by the sixty-year-old Bai Bureh. The operations against him, from February to November, involved "some of the most stubborn fighting that has been seen in West Africa," wrote Colonel Marshal, the British commander. "No such continuity of opposition had at any previous time been experienced on this part of the coast."

• Bai Bureh, was a Sierra Leonean ruler and military strategist who led the Temne uprising against the British in 1898.
• Ernest Bai Koroma, president of Sierra Leone
• Zainab Bangura, Sierra Leone foreign minister
• Foday Sankoh, was the leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
• Mohamed Kallon, football star
• Abass Bundu, former Sierra Leonean politician and diplomat
• Edward Turay, former leader of the All People's Congress
• Thaimu Bangura, former Sierra Leonean politician
• Abu Aiah Koroma, former Attorney General of Sierra Leone
• Dauda Kamara, member of parliament of Sierra Leone
• Andrew Turay, Sierra Leonean politician
• Okere Adams, former Sierra Leonean Minister of Tourism and Culture
• Ibrahim Kargbo, football star
• Mohammad Rashid, football star
• Mohamed Bangura former Sierra Leonean boxer
• Brima Sesay, football star
• Kabba Samura, football star
• Kemokai Kallon, football star

• Brooks, George (1993) "Landlords and Strangers: Ecology, Society, and Trade in Western Africa, 1000-1630" Boulder: Westview Press.
• Rodney, Walter (1970) "A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800" Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Wylie, Kenneth (1977) "The Political Kingdoms of the Temne: Temne Government in Sierra Leone, 1825-1910" New York: Africana Publishing. Company.

• Assessment for Temne in Sierra Leone
• See section on "Bai Bureh," a famous Loko/Temne ruler and war leader of the 19th century
• Tenne Maskes& Headdresses, Sierra Leone