Utnapishtim is the Babylonian flood survivor who appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In the poem’s eleventh tablet, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh how the god Ea warned him of a devastating flood. He built a large vessel, took aboard his family, craftsmen, and animals, and survived when the surrounding world was destroyed. The gods later granted him and his wife a special form of immortality.
The episode is one of the most important ancient Near Eastern flood narratives. It shares motifs with the Genesis account, including divine warning, a large vessel, preservation of life, birds sent out after the flood, and a sacrifice afterward. The two stories are not identical: their gods, instructions, vessel details, and theological conclusions differ.
Utnapishtim is sometimes called Atrahasis in comparative discussions because the flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh draws on earlier Mesopotamian traditions. Atrahasis is a related but distinct literary figure and should not be substituted when the question specifically asks for the character in Gilgamesh.