A provisional checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) documented from Sudan (here differentiated into the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan) is compiled, based on published records in the literature. Collectors of historical note include Carl Jickeli, Antonín Stecker, Louis Vossion, Maurice Potter, Stanley Flower, Harold King, Eberhard Fraas, Franz Werner, Leonard Jägerskiöld, Willoughby Lowe, Hubert Lynes, Mary Steele, James Macdonald, Pierre Benoit, John Cloudsley-Thompson, and John Lewis. 113 species from 28 families have been documented from the Republic of Sudan, and 59 species in 18 families from South Sudan. Nineteen species are common to both countries, yielding a total of 153 species in 30 families for Sudan in its traditional sense. The most diverse families (with more than three species recorded) are Salticidae, Araneidae, Thomisidae, Lycosidae, Sparassidae, Philodromidae, Oxyopidae, Theridiidae, and Gnaphosidae. Published records largely derive from Khartoum State, Red Sea State, South Kordofan State, and North Kordofan State (all with 10 or more species records) in the Republic of Sudan, and from Bahr El Jabal (Central Equatoria) and Upper Nile State (with 38 and 26 species respectively) from South Sudan.