Rana Ayyub is an Indian journalist and opinion columnist with The Washington Post. She is the author of the investigative book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up. Her father, Mohammad Ayyub Waqif, was a writer with Blitz, a Mumbai-based magazine, and an important member of the progressive writers movement. The city witnessed riots in 1992–93, during which time the family moved to the Muslim-dominant suburb of Deonar, which is where Rana largely grew up. Ayyub is a practicing Muslim.

Rana's worked for Tehelka, a Delhi-based investigative and political news magazine. Rana has previously been critical of the BJP in general and Narendra Modi. At Tehelka, Rana worked as an investigative journalist and her big assignment was to carry out the sting operation upon which her book Gujarat Files was based. She now works independently. In September 2019, Washington Post hired her as its contributing writer to the Global Opinions section.