A Ukrainian, plucked string, folk instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often referred to by the name kobza. Early instruments (c. 1700) had 5 to 12 strings and were similar to the lute. In the 20th century, the number of strings increased initially to 31 strings (1926) and 56 to 68 strings on modern 'concert' instruments (1954). 

It is suggested that the instrument developed as a hybrid of gusli (Eastern-European psaltery) and kobza (Eastern-European lute) and although the name bandura can date itself to Polish chronicles from 1441, this hybridisation occurred in the late 18th or early 19th centuries.

The back of a traditional bandura is usually carved from a solid piece of wood. The soundboard is traditionally made from a type of spruce. The wrest planks and bridge are made from hard woods such as birch.

The instrument was originally a diatonic instrument and, despite the addition of chromatic strings in the 1920s, has continued to be played as a diatonic instrument. Most contemporary concert instruments have a mechanism that allows for rapid re-tuning of the instrument into different keys.

The most common style of bandura in use today in Ukraine has 55 to 65 metal strings tuned chromatically through 5 octaves, with or without retuning mechanisms.