Pentium Pro为Intel的Pentium之后的下一代处理器，开创了Intel的P6处理器架构。Pentium Pro的P6架构是Intel后期数款CPU架构的基础，一直沿用为Pentium 4出现之前的所有Intel主流CPU的设计，后来的Intel Core多核结构也是根据P6架构为单核原型的设计。Pentium Pro在1995年11月以Socket 8接口推出。

Pentium Pro以陶瓷或有机塑胶封装，其最大特色在于首先采用双晶粒封装与内置全速二级缓存，双晶粒自然是指将运算核心与缓冲区两颗芯片一同装入CPU中，而片上（onchip）全速二级缓存则是因为这样做可以使得二级缓存可以与内核相同的频率运作，不必在像过去使用主板上较慢速的L2内存。从而为“乱序执行”（en:Out-of-order_execution）所导致的大量内存查找提供了捷径，直接提升了性能。此外，Pentium Pro还具备三个能够把x86指令转换成118位定长的RISC风格微操作的译码器（其中一个能把复杂x86指令转换成4个RISC风格微操作，另外两个解码器则是各可以把一条"简单"x86指令转换成一条RISC风格微操作，即所谓的“4+1+1”的3路解码格局）、实现了乱序执行等。

The Pentium Pro is a sixth-generation x86 microprocessor developed and manufactured by Intel introduced in November 1, 1995. It introduced the P6 microarchitecture (sometimes referred to as i686) and was originally intended to replace the original Pentium in a full range of applications. While the Pentium and Pentium MMX had 3.1 and 4.5 million transistors, respectively, the Pentium Pro contained 5.5 million transistors. Later, it was reduced to a more narrow role as a server and high-end desktop processor and was used in supercomputers like ASCI Red, the first computer to reach the teraFLOPS performance mark. The Pentium Pro was capable of both dual- and quad-processor configurations. It only came in one form factor, the relatively large rectangular Socket 8. The Pentium Pro was succeeded by the Pentium II Xeon in 1998.