Temnikov is a Russia town, the administrative center of the Temnikov District of Mordovia, the oldest town of the republic. It was founded in 1536 and then was shifted to a more convenient place on the other bank of River Moksha by order of Elena Glinskaya.

The town stands on the Moksha River (influx of Oka) in the west of the Mordovia republic, 158 km away from Saransk.

It had the population of 6689 people (as of 2014).

3 km away from the town there is the Holy Theotokos Nativity Sanaksarsky Monastery.

For a long time Temnikov was part of the Tambov Province.