Ernest Dawkins (born 2 November 1953 in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American jazz saxophonist, principally active in free jazz and post-bop.

Ernest Khabeer Dawkins was a neighbor of Anthony Braxton as a child. He played bass and drums early in life before switching to saxophone in 1973. During that decade he began studying with members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, such as Joseph Jarman and Chico Freeman, as well as at the Vandercook College of Music. He worked with Ed Wilkerson and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and Douglas Ewartbefore founding his own New Horizons Ensemble, which played regularly in Chicago into the 2000s, as well as at jazz festivals and on tour in Europe.