The Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) for Best Director () is a film award bestowed annually as part of the Nastro d'Argento awards since 1946, organized by the Italian National Association of Film Journalists (Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani or SNGCI), the national association of Italian film critics.

This is the list of Nastro d'Argento awards for Best Director. Federico Fellini is the record holder with seven Nastro d'Argento awards for Best Director received from 1954 to 1984 (also the only one awarded in two consecutive editions, in 1954 in 1955 for the films I vitelloni and La Strada), followed by Luchino Visconti, Gianni Amelio and Giuseppe Tornatore, with four awards each.

Nastro d'Argento for Best Director

1940s

1946

Alessandro Blasetti - Un giorno nella vita

Vittorio De Sica - Shoeshine

1947 - Roberto Rossellini - Paisan

1948

Alberto Lattuada - Flesh Will Surrender

Giuseppe De Santis - Tragic Hunt

1949 - Vittorio De Sica - Bicycle Thieves

1950s

1950 - Augusto Genina - Heaven over the Marshes

1951 - Alessandro Blasetti - Prima comunione

1952 - Renato Castellani - Two Cents Worth of Hope

1953 - Luigi Zampa - The City Stands Trial

1954 - Federico Fellini - I Vitelloni

1955 - Federico Fellini - La Strada

1956 - Michelangelo Antonioni - Le Amiche

1957 - Pietro Germi - The Railroad Man

1958 - Federico Fellini - Nights of Cabiria

1959 - Pietro Germi - A Man of Straw

1960s

1960 - Roberto Rossellini - General della Rovere

1961 - Luchino Visconti - Rocco and His Brothers

1962 - Michelangelo Antonioni - La Notte

1963

Nanni Loy - The Four Days of Naples

Francesco Rosi - Salvatore Giuliano

1964 - Federico Fellini - 8½

1965 - Pier Paolo Pasolini - The Gospel

According to St. Matthew

1966 - Antonio Pietrangeli - Io la conoscevo bene

1967 - Gillo Pontecorvo - The Battle of Algiers

1968 - Elio Petri - We Still Kill the Old Way

1969 - Franco Zeffirelli - Romeo and Juliet

1970s

1970 - Luchino Visconti - The Damned

1971 - Elio Petri - Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

1972 - Luchino Visconti - Death in Venice

1973 - Bernardo Bertolucci - Last Tango in Paris

1974 - Federico Fellini - Amarcord

1975 - Luchino Visconti - Conversation Piece

1976 - Michelangelo Antonioni - The Passenger

1977 - Valerio Zurlini - The Desert of the Tartars

1978 - Paolo and Vittorio Taviani - Padre Padrone

1979 - Ermanno Olmi - The Tree of Wooden Clogs

1980s

1980 - Federico Fellini - City of Women

1981 - Francesco Rosi - Tre fratelli

1982 - Marco Ferreri - Tales of Ordinary Madness

1983 - Paolo and Vittorio Taviani - The Night of the Shooting Stars

1984

Pupi Avati - Una gita scolastica

Federico Fellini - And the Ship Sails On

1985 - Sergio Leone - Once Upon a Time in America

1986 - Mario Monicelli - Speriamo che sia femmina

1987 - Ettore Scola - The Family

1988 - Bernardo Bertolucci - The Last Emperor

1989 - Ermanno Olmi - The Legend of the Holy Drinker

1990s

1990 - Pupi Avati - The Story of Boys & Girls

1991 - Gianni Amelio - Open Doors

1992 - Gabriele Salvatores - Mediterraneo

1993 - Gianni Amelio - The Stolen Children

1994 - Nanni Moretti - Caro diario

1995 - Gianni Amelio - Lamerica

1996 - Giuseppe Tornatore - The Star Maker

1997 - Maurizio Nichetti - Luna e l'altra

1998 - Roberto Benigni - Life Is Beautiful

1999 - Giuseppe Tornatore - The Legend of 1900

2000s

2000 - Silvio Soldini - Bread and Tulips

2001 - Nanni Moretti - The Son's Room

2002 - Marco Bellocchio - My Mother's Smile

2003 - Gabriele Salvatores - I'm Not Scared

2004 - Marco Tullio Giordana - The Best of Youth

2005 - Gianni Amelio - The Keys to the House

2006 - Michele Placido - Romanzo Criminale

2007 - Giuseppe Tornatore - The Unknown Woman

2008 - Paolo Virzì - Tutta la vita davanti

2009 - Paolo Sorrentino - Il Divo

2010s

2010 - Paolo Virzì - The First Beautiful Thing

2011 - Nanni Moretti - Habemus Papam

2012 - Paolo Sorrentino - This Must Be the Place

2013 - Giuseppe Tornatore - The Best Offer

2014 - Paolo Virzì - Human Capital

2015 - Paolo Sorrentino - Youth

2016 - Paolo Virzì - Like Crazy

2017 - Gianni Amelio - Tenderness

2018 - Matteo Garrone - Dogman

Nastro d'Argento for Best Director