Juvenalian satire, in literature, any bitter and ironic criticism of contemporary persons and institutions that is filled with personal invective, angry moral indignation, and pessimism.

The Satires are concerned with perceived threats to the social continuity of the Roman citizens: socially ascendant foreigners, unfaithfulness, and other more extreme excesses of the Roman aristocracy. Scholarly estimates for the dating of the individual books have varied.

Horatian satire is more tolerant toward the absurdities in society and human behavior, and its primary goal is to amuse its audience. On the other hand, Juvenalian satire seeks to inspire social change by making the audience feel indignant toward social injustice, rather than simply entertaining them.

Juvenalian satire tends to be harsh, bitter, and even obscene, as opposed to Horatian satire, which mocks its targets in a more gentle and good-natured way.