NGC 5643 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in constellation Lupus. It is located at a distance of circa 60 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5643 is about 100,000 light years across. NGC 5643 has an active galactic nucleus and is a type II Seyfert galaxy.

The galaxy was first reported by James Dunlop on May 10, 1826 with his 9-inch reflector telescope and described it as exceedingly faint. The galaxy was also spotted by John Herschel and added it in the General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters as number 3572. The galaxy is located only 15 degrees from the galactic plane.