Karakteristik  dan corak   pesantren   di Indonesia sebagai lembaga pendidikan Islam   antara lain : 1) Memakai sistem tradisional yang mempunyai kebebasan penuh dibanding dengan sekolah modern sehingga terjadi hubungan dua arah antara santri dengan kiyai, 2) Kehidupan di pesantren menampilkan semangat demokrasi karena mereka praktis bekerja sama mengatasi problem non kurikuler mereka, 3) Sistem pondok pesantren mengutamakan kesederhanaan, idealisme, persaudaraan, persamaan, rasa percaya diri dan keberanian. Di samping itu, adanya pondok tempat kiyai bersama santrinya, adanya masjid tempat kegiatan belajar mengajar, adanya santri dan kiyai merupakan tokoh sentral dalam pesantren yang memberi pengajaran dan kitab-kitab Islam klasik. Pondok pesantren tumbuh dan berkembang dengan sendirinya dalam masyarakat karena berhadapan dengan implikasi politis dan kultural yang menggambarkan sikap ulama-ulama Islam sepanjang sejarah. Tokoh-tokohnya antara lain K.H. Hasyim As’ari, K.H. Ahmad Dahlan, K.H. Zaenal Mustofa, K.H.M. Ilyas Ruhiyat, K.H. Ali Ma’shum, Sayyid Sulaiman, Kyai Itsbat, Syaikh Musthafa Husein Nasution, KH Ahmad Sahal, KH Zainuddin Fananie, dan KH Imam Zarkasy, dan lain-lain. Kata Kunci: Pondok Pesantren di Indonesia Characteristics and patterns of pesantren in Indonesia as Islamic educational institutions, That is: 1) Using traditional systems that have complete freedom compared with modern school, causing a bidirectional relationship between students with a chaplain, 2) Life at the school to show the spirit of democracy because they practically work together to overcome non-curricular problem, 3) The system boarding school prioritizes is simplicity, idealism, fraternity, equality, self-confidence and courage. In addition, the chaplain's cottage along with his students, their mosque where teaching and learning activities, the students and the chaplain of the central figures in schools that provide instruction and books of classical Islam. Boarding school grow and develop with Sendir Inya in society for dealing with political and cultural implications which describes the attitude of Islamic scholars throughout history. His characters include among others K.H. Hasyim As’ari, K.H. Ahmad Dahlan, K.H. Zaenal Mustofa, K.H.M. Ilyas Ruhiyat, K.H. Ali Ma’shum, Sayyid Sulaiman, Kyai Itsbat, Syaikh Musthafa Husein Nasution, KH Ahmad Sahal, KH Zainuddin Fananie, dan KH Imam Zarkasy and etc. Keywords: boarding school in Indonesia