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Sonic the Hedgehog, a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sonic Team and owned by Sega, is known for its large cast of characters. Sonic the Fighters (1996) producer Yu Suzuki jokingly said that anyone who attempts to create a Sonic game has the duty to create new characters. There are dozens of Sonic characters, consisting of anthropomorphic animals, sentient robots, and humans. This list only focuses on characters who have appeared in more than one Sonic game and omits those who are exclusive to adapted media, such as comics and television.

The first Sonic game, released in 1991, introduced Sonic the Hedgehog, a blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, and Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, a rotund mad scientist who designs robots and seeks the Chaos Emeralds in his quest for world domination. The 1992 sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 introduced Sonic's sidekick, Miles "Tails" Prower, while 1994's Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introduced Sonic's friendly rival, Knuckles the Echidna. Meanwhile, Sonic CD (1993) introduced Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose and Eggman's robotic enforcer Metal Sonic. All six have remained major characters and appeared in dozens of games.

Since Sonic Adventure (1998), the franchise's cast has grown considerably. Sonic Adventure introduced the unintelligent but sweet angler Big the Cat, Eggman's E-100 Series of robots, Knuckles' ancestor Tikal the Echidna, and the water-like being Chaos. The sequel Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) introduced Sonic's brooding doppelgänger Shadow the Hedgehog and the treasure-hunting Rouge the Bat, while the handheld Sonic Advance 2 (2001) introduced the young Cream the Rabbit. Other notable characters include the pyrokinetic Blaze the Cat, the time-traveling Silver the Hedgehog, and Eggman's assistants Orbot and Cubot. The franchise also features two fictional species: Chao, which function as digital pets and minor gameplay elements, and Wisps, which function as power-ups.

The Sonic franchise is often criticized for its extensive cast.

Mighty and Ray
Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel first appeared in 1993's SegaSonic the Hedgehog.

Amy Rose
Amy Rose (エミー・ローズ) is a pink hedgehog and Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend. Amy was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino for Sonic the Hedgehog CD (1993), although she appeared Kenji Terada's Sonic the Hedgehog manga a year before. Hoshino created her in-game graphics, with many staff members contributing ideas to her design. Her headband and trainer shoes reflected Sonic CD director Naoto Ohshima's tastes, and her mannerisms reflected the traits Hoshino looked for in women at the time. Her fur color was red at first, and her skirt orange. The character had two other names in game previews: Rosy the Rascal and Princess Sally (a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series and comics). Amy received her present design, with a red dress and boots, in Sonic Adventure (1998), courtesy of designer Yuji Uekawa. In the games, Amy is depicted as driven and competitive. She spends much of her time following Sonic to get his attention or make sure he is safe while demonstrating her affection. Series co-creator Yuji Naka said that Amy was designed "to always chase Sonic", and has made it her life goal to one day marry him. Not possessing the speed or strength of the other characters, Amy uses a hammer to defend herself instead. In Sonic CD, Metal Sonic kidnaps Amy and Sonic must rescue her. When he does, Amy kisses him. Amy's first appearance in a Sonic platformer as a playable character was in Sonic Adventure; her gameplay involves fleeing a robot pursuing her while using a hammer to defend herself. She is also playable in Sonic Heroes (2003) and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and appears as a non-player character in other games.

While some journalists have called Amy cute and powerful, others find her annoying. Justin Towell of GamesRadar+ and writers from Mean Machines expressed general displeasure at her introduction in Sonic CD. Additionally, some have criticized developers' treatment of Amy as a female character and analyzed her implications on gender representation in video games. The Electronic Gaming Monthly staff found her pink coloring and tendency to run from danger to be stereotypical and common in Japanese-created female characters, while feminist blogger Anita Sarkeesian cites Amy as an example of the "Ms. Male Character" trope, in which female characters in games with male protagonists often resemble those protagonists, but with stereotypically feminine features added. Despite this, Amy is one of the series' most popular characters, coming in fifth place in a Japanese popularity poll in 2006. Her likeness has been used in Sonic merchandise, and she appears in the television adaptations Sonic X (2003–2006) and Sonic Boom (2014–2017).

Silver the Hedgehog
Silver the Hedgehog is a silver-furred hedgehog from 200 years in the future of the main timeline. Silver first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and was created by that game's director Shun Nakamura.

Solaris
Solaris is a god that serves as the main antagonist and final boss of the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog. In 2019, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro used the music that plays during the Solaris boss fight in a campaign ad.
 * Mephiles the Dark is the conscience of Solaris, and serves as the main antagonist of Shadow's campaign.
 * Iblis, also known as the Flames of Disaster, is the raw power of Solaris, and serves as the main antagonist of Silver's campaign.