Carlo Bononi was an Italian painter.

Born and active mainly in Emilia and Ferrara, and considered to be mainly a painter of the School of Ferrara. He studied painting under Giuseppe Mazzuoli, known as il Bastarolo. He knew Guercino and was eulogized by Guido Reni as having a "bounty of a most honest life, a great knowledge of design, and strength in colorizing". Bononi rose to prominence in Ferrara when the painter Scarsellino died, and the former called to Rome. He was initially buried in Santa Maria in Vado, for which he had helped decorate the ceiling with various canvases.

Among his pupils were Alfonso Rivarola (il Chenda), Giovanni Battista dalla Torre, and Camillo Berlinghieri. His nephew, Leonello Bononi was also a painter.

An important exhibition has been held at Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara in Autumn 2017.