James Clay may refer to:

• James Clay (author) (1804–1873), English MP and writer about the game of whist
• James Clay (musician) (1935–1994), saxophonist and flautist
• James Clay (Pennsylvania politician), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• James Brown Clay (1817–1864), United States Representative from Kentucky
• James Franklin Clay (1840–1921), United States Representative from Kentucky
• Jim Clay (production designer), RDI-awarded production designer
• James Clay, a pseudonym used by Phil Foglio (born 1956), cartoonist and comic book artist