– This study aims to empirically examine the effect of financial distress on earnings management in manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The sample in this study used a purposive sampling technique with a sample of 12 manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2016-2019. The method used in this study is a quantitative method, while the analytical tool uses E-views 9. The results in the study obtained a t count of 0.334640 and a t table of 1.68595 so that it was concluded that t count < t table, so that the financial distress variable had no effect to earnings management. Companies experiencing financial distress assume that earnings management practices will actually harm the company in the future, so that company management prefers to report actual earnings.