The designation for the chief executive for the city of Jacksonville is mayor. The first mayor was elected in 1832. A new city charter in 1841 changed the titled to "Intendant" until 1859 when it was changed back to mayor. The information on mayors of Jacksonville from 1832 to 1848 is limited, mostly due to the Great Fire of 1901 destroying some of the records. Most of the information available today was taken from newspapers published during this period.
There was no election for mayor in 1840, nor during the Civil War in 1862, 1863, and 1864. In the period immediately following the Civil War, the mayors of Jacksonville had no real power, with the city being administered by the US Military.
On May 31, 1887, the city instituted a new charter, annexing the cities of LaVilla and Fairfield and most of the Springfield community into the city. The term of office for the mayor was also increased from one year to two year. The currently serving mayor, J.Q. Burbridge, had been elected on April 8, but the new charter call for a new election had to be held. On December 13, 1887 another election was help and C.B. Smith, a Republican, was elected mayor with a large number of African Americans voting for Smith. In an effort to stop, what was viewed by some as, outside interfernce and to prevent the African American citizen participation in local affairs, the Democratic Party members of the city, with the cooperation with some Republicans, petitioned the Florida State Legislature to change the city charter. The result was that direct election of mayors in the city was abolished from 1889 until 1893. Mayors during this period were elected by the city council, who were appointed by the Governor of Florida.
On October 1, 1968 the Duval County and City of Jacksonville governments were merged into one, a measure called "consolidation". Mayor Hans Tanzler had just taken office on June 23, 1967, however, consolidation meant that he would have to run again for the office of mayor for the newly consolidated city government. Hans Tanzler was re-elected and took office on March 1, 1968.
Mayors of Jacksonville, Florida
The following is a list of mayors of Jacksonville, Florida:
Pre-Civil War mayors
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office |
| 1 | William J. Mills | 1832 | 1835 |
| 2 | Unknown | 1835 | 1838 |
| 3 | Stephen Eddy | 1839 | 1840 |
| 4 | None | 1840 | 1841 |
Intendant period
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office |
| 1 | Unknown | 1841 | 1844 |
| 2 | Obediah Congar | 1844 | 1845 |
| 3 | Unknown | 1845 | 1846 |
| 4 | Joseph B. Lancaster | 1846 | 1847 |
| 5 | Oliver Wood | 1847 | 1848 |
| 6 | Unknown | 1848 | 1849 |
| 7 | Rodney Dorman | 1849 | 1850 |
| 8 | J. McRobert Baker | 1850 | 1851 |
| 9 | Rodney Dorman | 1851 | 1852 |
| 10 | Henry D. Holland | 1852 | 1853 |
| 11 | Isaac Swart | 1853 | 1854 |
| 12 | F. C. Barrett | 1854 | 1855 |
| 13 | Philip Frazer | 1855 | 1856 |
| 14 | F. I. Wheaton | 1856 | 1857 |
| 15 | George C. Gibbs | 1856 | 1857 |
| 16 | John S. Murdock | 1858 | 1859 |
Pre-Civil War Mayors Revived
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office |
| 1 | Holmes Steele | 1859 | 1860 |
| 2 | Halstead H. Hoeg | 1861 | 1862 |
There were no elections held in 1862, 1863, & 1864.
Pre-consolidation mayors
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party |
| 1 | Halstead H. Hoeg | 1865 | 1866 | Democrat |
| 2 | Holmes Steele | 1866 | 1867 | Democrat |
| 3 | John Clark | 1867 | 1868 | Democrat |
| 4 | Edward Hopkins | 1868 | 1870 | Democrat |
| 5 | Peter Jones | 1870 | 1873 | Republican |
| 6 | J.C. Greeley | 1873 | 1874 | Republican |
| 7 | Peter Jones | 1874 | 1876 | Republican |
| 8 | Luther McConihe | 1876 | 1877 | Democrat |
| 9 | W. Stokes Boyd | 1877 | 1878 | Democrat |
| 10 | Luther McConihe | 1878 | 1879 | Democrat |
| 11 | Peter Jones | 1879 | 1880 | Republican |
| 12 | J. Ramsey Dey | 1880 | 1881 | Republican |
| 13 | Morris A. Dzialynski | 1881 | 1883 | Democrat |
| 14 | W. McClaws Dancy | 1883 | 1885 | Democrat |
| 15 | M.C. Rice | 1885 | 1886 | Democrat |
| 16 | Patrick McQuaid | 1886 | 1887 | Democrat |
| 17 | J.Q. Burbridge | 1887 | 1887 | Democrat |
| 18 | C.B. Smith | 1887 | 1888 | Republican |
| 19 | Patrick McQuaid | 1888 | 1891 | Democrat |
| 20 | Henry Robinson | 1891 | 1893 | Democrat |
| 21 | Duncan U. Fletcher | 1893 | 1895 | Democrat |
| 22 | William M. Bostwick | 1895 | 1897 | Democrat |
| 23 | William D. Knight | 1897 | 1899 | Democrat |
| 24 | J.E.T. Bowden | 1899 | 1901 | Democrat |
| 25 | Duncan U. Fletcher | 1901 | 1903 | Democrat |
| 26 | George M. Nolan | 1903 | 1906 | Democrat |
| 27 | William H. Baker | 1906 | 1907 | Democrat |
| 28 | William H. Sebring | 1907 | 1909 | Democrat |
| 29 | William S. Jordan | 1909 | 1913 | Democrat |
| 30 | Van C. Swearingen | 1913 | 1915 | Democrat |
| 31 | J.E.T. Bowden | 1915 | 1917 | Democrat |
| 32 | John W. Martin | 1917 | 1923 | Democrat |
| 32 | John T. Alsop, Jr. | 1923 | 1937 | Democrat |
| 32 | George C. Blume | 1937 | 1941 | Democrat |
| 33 | John T. Alsop, Jr. | 1941 | 1945 | Democrat |
| 34 | Frank Whitehead | 1945 | 1949 | Democrat |
| 35 | W. Haydon Burns | 1949 | 1965 | Democrat |
| 36 | Lou Ritter | 1965 | 1967 | Democrat |
| 37 | Hans Tanzler | 1967 | 1968 | Democrat |
Consolidated city mayors
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party |
| 1 | Hans Tanzler | 1968 | 1979 | Democrat |
| 2 | Jake Godbold | 1979 | 1987 | Democrat |
| 3 | Tommy Hazouri | 1987 | 1991 | Democrat |
| 4 | Ed Austin, Jr. | 1991 | 1995 | Democrat |
| 5 | John A. Delaney | 1995 | 2003 | Republican |
| 6 | John Peyton | 2003 | Current | Republican |