Tau Octantis, Latinized from τ Octantis, is a solitary star in the southern circumpolar constellation Octans. It has an apparent magnitude of 5.50, allowing it to be faintly seen with the naked eye. The object is located at a distance of 480 light years but is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 31 km/s.

Tau Octantis has a stellar classification of K2 III, indicating that the object is a red giant. It has 114% the mass of the Sun but is 223 times as luminous. However, an enlarged radius of 24 R☉ yields an effective temperature of 4,422 K, giving it an orange glow. Tau Octantis has an iron abundance 132% that of the Sun and is believed to be a member of the old disk population. Currently, it spins with a projected rotational velocity less than 1 km/s.