The White Oak River is a blackwater river, approximately 40 mi (64 km) long, on the coastal plain of southeast North Carolina in the United States. It empties in the Atlantic Ocean.

It rises in the White Oak Pocosin in northern Onslow County approximately 15 mi (24 km) north of Jacksonville. It flows east, then SSE, along the border between Onslow, Jones and Carteret counties, and forming the western boundary of Croatan National Forest. The lower 10 mi (16 km) of the river is a tidal estuary, approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) wide. It enters the Atlantic at Bogue Sound, then passes between two barrier islands (Bogue Banks and Bear Island) through Bogue Inlet into the open Atlantic at Onslow Bay.