Hinton James (April 24, 1884 – November 3, 1948) was a U.S. Congressman from the state of North Carolina between 1930 and 1931.

James, born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, attended Davidson College and became a cotton merchant in Laurinburg. He was elected to the Laurinburg city council in 1917 and elected mayor in 1919; he served a single two-year term. James was elected to the 71st United States Congress in 1930 in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William C. Hammer; he served from November 4, 1930, to March 3, 1931 and was not a candidate for election to the 72nd U.S. Congress. He returned to business after his time in Congress and was a member of the Laurinburg school board from 1941 to 1945 and was North Carolina commissioner of game and inland fisheries during those same years. He also was a member of the Scotland County Democratic executive committee. James remained a resident of Laurinburg as a cotton and produce merchant until his death in 1948. He is interred in Laurinburg's Hillside Cemetery.