A family of transposing musical instruments patented and produced by Pierre-Louis Gautrot in 1856. It was named after the French bandmaster Pierre-Auguste Sarrus, who is credited with the concept of the instrument (although it is not clear whether he benefited financially). The instrument was intended to serve as a replacement in wind bands for the oboe and bassoon which, at that time, lacked the carrying power required for outdoor band music.

All members of the sarrusophone family are made of metal, with a conical bore, and the larger members of the family resemble the ophicleide in shape. Like the oboe and bassoon, all sizes of sarrusophone were originally designed to be played with a double reed. Later, single reed mouthpieces were developed which resemble alto or soprano saxophone mouthpieces.

The fingering of the sarrusophone is nearly identical to that of the saxophone. This similarity caused Adolphe Sax to file and lose at least one lawsuit against Gautrot, claiming infringement upon his patent for the saxophone. Sax lost on the grounds that the tone produced by the two families of instruments is markedly different, despite their mechanical similarities. However, because the sarrusophone never gained wide acceptance, makers were not inclined to develop its mechanism to the same extent as that of the saxophone.