Delaware Route 896 (DE 896) is a state highway located in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from U.S. Route 13 (US 13) in Boyds Corner, Delaware north to the Maryland border northwest of Newark, where it becomes the unsigned Maryland Route 896 (MD 896) briefly before heading into Pennsylvania as Pennsylvania Route 896 (PA 896). The route heads west from US 13 before turning north along with US 301/DE 71 in Mount Pleasant, crossing the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the Summit Bridge. After the bridge, DE 71 splits off to the east and the road continues to Glasgow, where US 301 ends at an intersection with US 40. DE 896 continues north and interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95) before reaching Newark, where it bypasses the University of Delaware to the west by following DE 2/DE 4 and DE 2 Business (DE 2 Bus.). DE 896 comes to downtown Newark and continues northwest to the Maryland border. DE 896 has an alternate alignment south of Glasgow called DE 896 Alternate (DE 896 Alt.) and a business route, DE 896 Bus., that passes through Glasgow.

DE 896 was originally built as a state highway during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1938, the route was designated between DE 71 in Summit Bridge and the Maryland border northwest of Newark. In the 1950s, the route was extended to US 13 south of Townsend, following DE 71 to Middletown and replacing a part of that route south of there. Between the 1950s and 1990s, various alignments of US 301, US 301N, and US 301S followed DE 896. In the 1980s, DE 896 was realigned to head from Mt. Pleasant to US 13 in Boyds Corner, with DE 71 later being extended down the former route past Middletown. Also around this time, DE 896 was rerouted to bypass the University of Delaware to the west. A bypass of Glasgow was completed in the 1990s and the route was extended slightly to the DE 1 toll road.

DE 896 begins at an intersection with US 13 in Boyds Corner, heading west on two-lane undivided Boyds Corner Road. East of US 13, the road becomes unnumbered Pole Bridge Road and reaches an interchange with the DE 1 toll road. From the southern terminus, DE 896 passes through agricultural areas with some residential subdivisions and woods. The road crosses over Norfolk Southern's Delmarva Secondary railroad line and comes to an intersection with US 301/DE 71 in Mount Pleasant. Here, DE 896 turns north to form a concurrency with US 301/DE 71 on Summit Bridge Road, a four-lane divided highway. The road passes a few businesses before heading between the Summit Airport to the west and housing developments to the east. US 301/DE 71/DE 896 heads to the northwest through farm fields before turning to the west and passing a residential subdivision to the south. In the unincorporated community of Summit Bridge, the road intersects the northern terminus of DE 15. Past this intersection, US 301/DE 71/DE 896 turns north and crosses over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the Summit Bridge.

Past the Summit Bridge, the road passes through woods and passes under Chesapeake City Road near the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery. DE 71 splits from US 301/DE 896 by heading to the southeast on Red Lion Road. US 301/DE 896 continues north between residential neighborhoods to the west and wooded Lums Pond State Park to the east. The road passes near more suburban homes with some fields before reaching Glasgow, where it curves northeast to bypass Glasgow to the east with DE 896 Bus. heading north into Glasgow. US 301/DE 896 curves northwest and intersects US 40, where US 301 comes to its northern terminus.

Following this intersection, DE 896 continues northwest as South College Avenue, coming to a southbound ramp that provides access to DE 896 Bus. at the north end of Glasgow. The road heads through industrial and commercial areas, passing near a few homes before intersecting Old Baltimore Pike. The route heads through wooded areas to the east of Iron Hill Park before reaching a modified cloverleaf interchange with I-95 (Delaware Turnpike). Past this interchange, DE 896 enters Newark and runs northwest past businesses, curving north and coming to an intersection with DE 2/DE 4.

At this point, DE 896 turns west to join DE 2/DE 4 on the four-lane divided Christiana Parkway, passing to the south of the former Newark Assembly plant used by Chrysler. The road narrows into a three-lane undivided road with two eastbound lanes and one westbound lane, curving to the northwest and coming to a bridge over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line. Christiana Parkway comes to an intersection with Elkton Road, where DE 4 ends, DE 2 turns southwest onto that road, and DE 2 Bus. and DE 896 continue northeast on Elkton Road. DE 2 Bus./DE 896 becomes a four-lane divided highway that heads into residential areas. The road becomes undivided as it passes businesses before reaching downtown Newark.

Here, DE 2 Bus./DE 896 intersects DE 273, with the road splitting into a one-way pair. Eastbound DE 2 Bus./northbound DE 896 heads concurrent with eastbound DE 273 on West Delaware Avenue, heading to the east, while westbound DE 2 Bus./southbound DE 896 remain along Elkton Road, also concurrent with eastbound DE 273. The one-way pair carries two lanes in each direction. Northbound DE 896 soon turns north onto two-way South College Avenue, which carries two northbound lanes and one southbound lane as it passes through the University of Delaware campus. The northbound direction of the route turns west (along westbound DE 2 Bus./DE 273 on West Main Street), reaching the head of Elkton Road, which it left earlier due to one-way streets. Here, northbound DE 896 continues northwest onto one-way New London Road, carrying one lane, while southbound DE 896 follows DE 273 on two-way, two-lane West Main Street. Soon after, both directions of the route crosses CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line as it leaves the downtown area and heads into residential neighborhoods. New London Road becomes two-way carrying both directions of DE 896, with southbound DE 896 heading southwest on two-way North Hillside Road to get to DE 273 and continue east. The two-lane undivided DE 896 heads northwest between the Newark Country Club to the west and the University of Delaware to the east before widening into a divided highway and passing a shopping center as it heads past more housing subdivisions. The route becomes undivided again as it leaves Newark and heads through less dense areas of residential development with some fields and woods, passing to the west of White Clay Creek State Park. DE 896 continues to its northern terminus at the Maryland border, where it briefly passes through the northeast corner of that state as MD 896 before heading north into Pennsylvania as PA 896.

DE 896 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 48,750 vehicles at the I-95 interchange to a low of 4,605 vehicles at the intersection between New London Road and North Hillside Road. The portion of DE 896 south of US 40 is part of the National Highway System.

What is now DE 896 originally existed as a county road by 1920, with the portion between Boyds Corner and Mt. Pleasant proposed as a state highway at that time. By 1924, the state highway between Boyds Corner and Mt. Pleasant was completed while the rest of the route was paved. A year later, the road was upgraded to a state highway between Mt. Pleasant and Summit Bridge. By 1936, the road became a state highway between Summit Bridge and Glasgow; at this time none of present-day DE 896 was assigned a route number. DE 896 was designated by 1938 to run from DE 71 in Summit Bridge north to the Maryland border northwest of Newark, passing through Newark on College Avenue and New London Road. At the state line, the road briefly became MD 278 before becoming PA 896 in Pennsylvania. MD 278 became MD 896 in 1942 to match DE 896 and PA 896. At the time of designation, DE 896 between Glasgow and Newark was under construction, this segment was completed a year later.

DE 896 was extended south to US 13 south of Townsend by 1957, following DE 71 between Summit Bridge and Middletown and replacing DE 71 between Middletown and US 13. By 1959, US 301S was designated along DE 71/DE 896 between Summit Bridge and Middletown. The route was realigned to a new Summit Bridge a short distance to the west in 1960, with a part of the former DE 896 north of the bridge becoming a part of a realigned US 301S/DE 71. The US 301S designation along DE 71/DE 896 between Middletown and Summit Bridge became US 301 by 1971, with US 301N being designated along DE 896 between Summit Bridge and US 40 in Glasgow.

By 1984, DE 896 was realigned to run from Mt. Pleasant to US 13 in Boyds Corner along its current alignment. The former alignment south of Middletown became unnumbered at the time but would become part of DE 71 again by 1990. The same year, the Christina Parkway around the southern edge of Newark was completed. A year later, US 301N was rerouted to follow DE 896 between Mt. Pleasant and Boyds Corner, with US 301N being removed from the route between Summit Bridge and Glasgow and US 301S being extended along the route between Mt. Pleasant and Summit Bridge. By 1987, US 301S was removed from DE 71/DE 896 and the US 301N designation became US 301. A year later, DE 896 was routed to bypass the University of Delaware campus by heading west along the Christiana Parkway with DE 4 and then northeast on DE 2 before continuing along New London Road. By 1990, DE 2 was routed to follow DE 4 and DE 896 on the Christiana Parkway and DE 2 Bus. was designated along with DE 896 on Elkton Road. By 1994, US 301 was realigned to follow DE 896 between Mt. Pleasant and Glasgow. By 1996, DE 896 was rerouted to bypass Glasgow to the east, with the former alignment becoming DE 896 Business.

The entire route is in New Castle County.

Delaware Route 896 Alternate (DE 896 Alt.) is an alternate alignment of DE 896 from near its southern terminus in Boyds Corner north to Glasgow. The route heads north from Boyds Corner concurrent with US 13 on the four-lane divided Dupont Parkway, passing through rural areas with some development. In Biddles Corner, the alternate route splits from US 13 and heads north along DE 1, a four-lane freeway that crosses the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Bridge. DE 896 Alt. follows DE 1 to the interchange with DE 72, where it continues west along with DE 72 on two-lane undivided Wrangle Hill Road. The road heads through suburban areas and intersects DE 71, curving northwest and north before reaching an intersection with US 40. At this point, the alternate route heads west concurrent with US 40 on the four-lane divided Pulaski Highway, passing through developed areas to the south of Glasgow Park. DE 896 Alt. ends at an intersection with US 301/DE 896 on the eastern edge of Glasgow.

Delaware Route 896 Business (DE 896 Bus.) is a 1.78-mile (2.86 km) long business route of DE 896 that passes through Glasgow. The route begins at an intersection with US 301/DE 896 south of Glasgow, heading north on two-lane undivided Glasgow Avenue into residential areas. The road runs immediately to the west of US 301/DE 896 before that road curves to the northeast. The business route heads into commercial areas and intersects US 40. Past this, DE 896 Bus. heads into rural areas of homes and comes to a dead end at which point there is a ramp from southbound DE 896 to DE 896 Bus. It uses the old alignment of DE 896, and was created by 1996 following the completion of the current DE 896 bypass to the east of town.