Topical or Thematic stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps relating to a particular subject or interest. Topics can be almost anything, from stamps on stamps, birds on stamps, to famous people, to the history of England.

The variety of designs on stamps is enormous, giving topical collectors plenty to chose from.  In fact, so many stamps have been issued that some popular themes, such as "ships" or "birds", have become nearly impossible to complete.  Collectors can specialize further by looking only for non flying insects, or only flightless birds.

Topical collecting is a recognized category for competitive exhibitions and has its own Commission with the FIP (Federation Internationale de Philatelie.)