Xia Yu, born in Qingdao, Shandong Province on October 28, 1976, is a Chinese actor who got his bachelor degree from the Central Academy of Drama.

In 1994, he acted the leading role in the film In the Heat of the Sun and achieved international fame by winning many awards, including Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Award. In 1998, he starred in the film Shadow Magic directed by Ann Hu. In 2000, he played the leading role in the film Roots and Branches co-starring Gigi Leung, Jiang Wu and Chen Shi. In 2002, he acted the leading role in the film The Law of Romance and received the Best Actor Award at the 23rd Golden Rooster Awards. In 2003, he, together with Jiang Yihong and Jiang Shan, starred in Electric Shadows. In 2005, he acted the leading role in Waiting Alone with Li Bingbing and Gong Beibi and won the Best Actor Award at Beijing College Student Film Festival. In 2008, he co-starred with Yan Ni and Ma Su in the TV series North Wind Blows. In 2013, he, together with Aaron Kwok, Gui Lunmei and Qin Hailu, starred in the film Christmas Rose. At the end of 2013, he joined the film Breakup Buddies directed by Ning Hao. In 2014, he acted the leading role in the film Romance Out of the Blue and Mojin: The Lost Legend directed by Wuershan, which was based on the novel Ghost Blows out the Light.