Cao Xuan (; born July 2, 1985) is a Chinese footballer.
Cao Xuan originally started his football career with the Dalian Shide F.C. youth team. In 2000, he moved to Zhejiang so he could join and play for the Zhejiang Lücheng youth team. With them he graduated to the senior team and started his professional football career at the bottom the Chinese league system. After several seasons with the club he was promoted to the Chinese Super League after seeing Zhejiang Lücheng come second in the second tier. He was a vital member of the team as it established itself as mid-table regulars for several seasons until the 2009 Chinese Super League saw the club struggle within the league. This saw Chinese international Du Wei brought in the following season to strengthen the team's defense and Cao was dropped as a squad regular. When Du Wei left, Cao re-established himself as a vital member of the team's defence.
On 5 January 2016, Cao transferred to his hometown club Dalian Yifang in the China League One. He was excluded from the team squad in the 2017 season under manager Juan Ramón López Caro. Cao joined fellow League One side Shijiazhuang Ever Bright on 26 January 2018. In the following 2019 league season he helped the team win promotion back into the top tier.
Statistics accurate as of match played 31 December 2020.