AbstractMotivationPopulation density is a key demographic parameter influencing many ecological processes, and macroecology has described both intra‐ and interspecific patterns of variation. Population density data are expensive to collect and contain many forms of noise and potential bias; these factors have impeded investigation of macroecological patterns, and many hypotheses remain largely unexplored. Population density also represents fundamental information for conservation, because it underlies population dynamics and, ultimately, extinction risk. Here we present TetraDENSITY, an extensive dataset with > 18,000 records of density estimates for terrestrial vertebrates, in order to facilitate new research on this topic.Main types of variable containedThe dataset includes taxonomic information on species, population density estimate, year of data collection, season, coordinates of the locality, locality name, habitat, sampling method and sampling area.Spatial location and grainGlobal. Spatial accuracy varies across studies; conservatively, it can be considered at 1°, but for many data it is much finer.Time period and grainFrom 1926 to 2017. Temporal accuracy is yearly in most cases, but studies with higher temporal resolution (season, month) are also present.Major taxa and level of measurementAmphibians in terrestrial phase, reptiles, birds and mammals. Estimates derive from multiple methods, reflecting the study taxon, location and techniques available at the time of density estimation.