Skelton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York, in North Yorkshire, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km)north northwest of York city centre, west of Haxby, and on the east bank of the River Ouse. Skelton was in the ancient royal Forest of Galtres which covers 977.3 hectares (3.77 square miles). Skelton was made a conservation area in 1973.
The village name probably began as the Anglo-Saxon 'Shelfton' – 'the settlement on high ground'– becoming the present 'Skelton' under the invading Danes. The village, along with nearby Overton, is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1640.
Prior to 1996 it had been part of the Ryedale district. Before the nationwide municipal reorganization of 1974, Skelton was part of Flaxton Rural District. Historically, it was an ecclesiastical parish in the Bulmer Wapentake.