Barrow upon Soar is a large village in northern Leicestershire, in the Soar Valley between Leicester and Loughborough, with a population at the 2011 census of 5,856.

Barrow lies on the east bank of the River Soar, where the river is joined by the Fishpool Brook. British Gypsum has a plant at Barrow, and the parish is adjacent to the Swithland Reservoir.

Barrow upon Soar is part of the local government district of Charnwood.

Barrow-upon-Soar railway station is situated on the Midland Main Line, and Ivanhoe Line trains stop there. The Mountsorrel Railway, carrying granite from the Mountsorrel quarries, used to run to here; the line from Mountsorrel is still followed by a mineral conveyor to Barrow, where quarry rock is sorted for distribution.

White's History, Gazetteer and Directory of the Counties of Leicester and Rutland (1877) says:

Barrow-upon-Soar is a parish and large village, which gives its name to a Poor Law Union district, and a county court district. It has for ages been celebrated for its excellent limestone, and is pleasantly situated on the east side of the navigable River Soar, and on both sides of the Midland Railway on which it has a station 2 miles N. of Mount Sorrel, 3 miles S.E. of Loughborough, and 9 miles N. of Leicester. Barrow township comprises about 2510 acres of land and had 1099 inhabitants in 1801, 1638 in 1831, 1800 in 1861, and 1973 in 1871, the increase of the last ten years being 'attributed to the opening of the limeworks.' It is in East Goscote Hundred, but its parish comprises also the townships of Mount Sorrel North-end, Quorndon, and Woodhouse, all of which are in West Goscote Hundred. The area of the whole parish is about 9160 acres, and it had 5857 inhabitants in 1871.

The village is known for a plesiosaur that was excavated here in 1851. The specimen of Atychodracon megacephalus, found in a lime pit outside the village, was nicknamed the "Barrow Kipper". At the centre of the village is a roundabout with a sign depecting its skeleton. The skeleton is now on display at the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, with a full-size replica at Charnwood Museum in Loughborough. The village's football club has the skeleton on its badge.