diff --git a/handlers/chat.go b/handlers/chat.go
index 5f2bda3..6abfae4 100644
--- a/handlers/chat.go
+++ b/handlers/chat.go
@@ -223,12 +223,21 @@ func ChatHandler(app *App) http.HandlerFunc {
 		}
 		allUsernamesJSON, _ := json.Marshal(allUsernames)
 
+		// Get user preferences for markdown preview default
+		prefs, err := models.GetUserPreferences(app.DB, userID)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Error fetching user preferences: %v", err)
+			// Create default if not found
+			prefs, _ = models.CreateDefaultPreferences(app.DB, userID)
+		}
+
 		data := struct {
 			PageData
-			Board           models.Board
-			Messages        []models.ChatMessage
-			AllUsernames    template.JS
-			CurrentUsername string
+			Board                  models.Board
+			Messages               []models.ChatMessage
+			AllUsernames           template.JS
+			CurrentUsername        string
+			MarkdownPreviewDefault string
 		}{
 			PageData: PageData{
 				Title:            "ThreadR Chat - " + board.Name,
@@ -239,10 +248,11 @@ func ChatHandler(app *App) http.HandlerFunc {
 				StaticPath:       app.Config.ThreadrDir + "/static",
 				CurrentURL:       r.URL.Path,
 			},
-			Board:           *board,
-			Messages:        messages,
-			AllUsernames:    template.JS(allUsernamesJSON),
-			CurrentUsername: currentUsername,
+			Board:                  *board,
+			Messages:               messages,
+			AllUsernames:           template.JS(allUsernamesJSON),
+			CurrentUsername:        currentUsername,
+			MarkdownPreviewDefault: prefs.MarkdownPreviewDefault,
 		}
 		if err := app.Tmpl.ExecuteTemplate(w, "chat", data); err != nil {
 			log.Printf("Error executing template in ChatHandler: %v", err)
diff --git a/static/app.js b/static/app.js
index 3f374b0..aefdf51 100644
--- a/static/app.js
+++ b/static/app.js
@@ -371,3 +371,118 @@ function showDraftIndicator(content, timestamp, onRestore, onDiscard) {
     
     return indicator;
 }
+
+// ============================================
+// Markdown Preview Functions
+// ============================================
+
+// Escape HTML to prevent XSS
+function escapeHTML(str) {
+    const div = document.createElement('div');
+    div.textContent = str;
+    return div.innerHTML;
+}
+
+// Process inline markdown (bold, italic, code, mentions)
+function processInlineMarkdown(line) {
+    // Inline code first (to avoid processing markdown inside code)
+    line = line.replace(/`([^`]+)`/g, '<code>$1</code>');
+    
+    // Bold: **text** or __text__
+    line = line.replace(/\*\*([^\*]+)\*\*/g, '<strong>$1</strong>');
+    line = line.replace(/__([^_]+)__/g, '<strong>$1</strong>');
+    
+    // Italic: *text* or _text_
+    line = line.replace(/\*([^\*]+)\*/g, '<em>$1</em>');
+    line = line.replace(/_([^_]+)_/g, '<em>$1</em>');
+    
+    // Mentions: @username
+    line = line.replace(/@(\w+)/g, '<span class="chat-message-mention">@$1</span>');
+    
+    return line;
+}
+
+// Render markdown to HTML (matching Go implementation)
+function renderMarkdownPreview(content) {
+    let html = '';
+    
+    // Extract code blocks first and replace with placeholders
+    const codeBlocks = [];
+    let codeBlockCounter = 0;
+    
+    content = content.replace(/```(\w*)\n([\s\S]*?)\n```/g, (match, lang, code) => {
+        const escapedCode = escapeHTML(code);
+        let renderedBlock;
+        if (lang) {
+            renderedBlock = `<pre><code class="language-${lang}">${escapedCode}</code></pre>`;
+        } else {
+            renderedBlock = `<pre><code>${escapedCode}</code></pre>`;
+        }
+        const placeholder = `<!--CODEBLOCK_${codeBlockCounter}-->`;
+        codeBlocks[codeBlockCounter] = renderedBlock;
+        codeBlockCounter++;
+        return placeholder;
+    });
+    
+    // Process lines
+    const lines = content.split('\n');
+    let inList = false;
+    
+    for (const line of lines) {
+        const trimmedLine = line.trim();
+        
+        // Headers
+        if (trimmedLine.startsWith('### ')) {
+            if (inList) { html += '</ul>\n'; inList = false; }
+            html += '<h3>' + processInlineMarkdown(trimmedLine.substring(4)) + '</h3>\n';
+            continue;
+        } else if (trimmedLine.startsWith('## ')) {
+            if (inList) { html += '</ul>\n'; inList = false; }
+            html += '<h2>' + processInlineMarkdown(trimmedLine.substring(3)) + '</h2>\n';
+            continue;
+        } else if (trimmedLine.startsWith('# ')) {
+            if (inList) { html += '</ul>\n'; inList = false; }
+            html += '<h1>' + processInlineMarkdown(trimmedLine.substring(2)) + '</h1>\n';
+            continue;
+        }
+        
+        // Lists
+        if (trimmedLine.startsWith('* ') || trimmedLine.startsWith('- ')) {
+            if (!inList) {
+                html += '<ul>\n';
+                inList = true;
+            }
+            const listContent = trimmedLine.substring(2);
+            html += '<li>' + processInlineMarkdown(listContent) + '</li>\n';
+            continue;
+        }
+        
+        // Close list if we're not in a list item anymore
+        if (inList) {
+            html += '</ul>\n';
+            inList = false;
+        }
+        
+        // Regular paragraphs
+        if (trimmedLine !== '') {
+            html += '<p>' + processInlineMarkdown(trimmedLine) + '</p>\n';
+        } else {
+            html += '\n';
+        }
+    }
+    
+    // Close list if still open
+    if (inList) {
+        html += '</ul>\n';
+    }
+    
+    // Replace code block placeholders
+    codeBlocks.forEach((block, index) => {
+        html = html.replace(`<!--CODEBLOCK_${index}-->`, block);
+    });
+    
+    // Clean up excessive newlines
+    html = html.replace(/\n{3,}/g, '\n\n');
+    
+    return html;
+}
diff --git a/templates/pages/chat.html b/templates/pages/chat.html
index 2adba73..28eff8b 100644
--- a/templates/pages/chat.html
+++ b/templates/pages/chat.html
@@ -247,6 +247,99 @@
             padding: 6px 12px;
             font-size: 0.9em;
         }
+        .markdown-tabs {
+            display: flex;
+            gap: 0;
+            margin-bottom: 0;
+            border-bottom: 1px solid #001858;
+        }
+        .markdown-tab {
+            flex: 1;
+            padding: 8px 16px;
+            border: none;
+            background-color: #f3d2c1;
+            color: #001858;
+            font-family: monospace;
+            font-size: 0.9em;
+            cursor: pointer;
+            border-right: 1px solid #001858;
+            transition: background-color 0.2s ease;
+        }
+        .markdown-tab:last-child {
+            border-right: none;
+        }
+        .markdown-tab:hover {
+            background-color: #fef6e4;
+        }
+        .markdown-tab.active {
+            background-color: #8bd3dd;
+            color: #001858;
+            font-weight: bold;
+        }
+        .markdown-content-container {
+            position: relative;
+            min-height: 50px;
+        }
+        .chat-input textarea,
+        .markdown-preview {
+            display: none;
+            resize: none;
+            height: 50px;
+            margin-bottom: 8px;
+            font-size: 0.9em;
+            width: 100%;
+            box-sizing: border-box;
+        }
+        .chat-input textarea.markdown-visible,
+        .markdown-preview.markdown-visible {
+            display: block;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview {
+            border: 1px solid #001858;
+            border-radius: 5px;
+            padding: 8px;
+            background-color: #fef6e4;
+            color: #001858;
+            min-height: 50px;
+            max-height: 200px;
+            overflow-y: auto;
+            font-family: monospace;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview h1 {
+            font-size: 1.5em;
+            margin: 0.5em 0;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview h2 {
+            font-size: 1.3em;
+            margin: 0.5em 0;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview h3 {
+            font-size: 1.1em;
+            margin: 0.5em 0;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview p {
+            margin: 0.5em 0;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview ul {
+            margin: 0.5em 0;
+            padding-left: 2em;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview code {
+            background-color: #f3d2c1;
+            padding: 2px 4px;
+            border-radius: 3px;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview pre {
+            background-color: #f3d2c1;
+            padding: 8px;
+            border-radius: 5px;
+            overflow-x: auto;
+            margin: 0.5em 0;
+        }
+        .markdown-preview pre code {
+            background-color: transparent;
+            padding: 0;
+        }
         .post-actions {
             position: absolute;
             top: 5px;
@@ -410,6 +503,29 @@
                     border-color: #f582ae;
                 }
             }
+            .markdown-tab {
+                background-color: #555;
+                color: #fef6e4;
+                border-color: #fef6e4;
+            }
+            .markdown-tab:hover {
+                background-color: #666;
+            }
+            .markdown-tab.active {
+                background-color: #8bd3dd;
+                color: #001858;
+            }
+            .markdown-preview {
+                background-color: #333;
+                color: #fef6e4;
+                border-color: #fef6e4;
+            }
+            .markdown-preview code {
+                background-color: #555;
+            }
+            .markdown-preview pre {
+                background-color: #555;
+            }
         }
     </style>
 </head>
@@ -466,7 +582,14 @@
                     <span id="reply-username">Replying to </span>
                     <button onclick="cancelReply()">X</button>
                 </div>
-                <textarea id="chat-input-text" placeholder="Type a message..."></textarea>
+                <div class="markdown-tabs">
+                    <button class="markdown-tab active" data-tab="edit" onclick="switchMarkdownTab('edit')">Edit</button>
+                    <button class="markdown-tab" data-tab="preview" onclick="switchMarkdownTab('preview')">Preview</button>
+                </div>
+                <div class="markdown-content-container">
+                    <textarea id="chat-input-text" placeholder="Type a message..." class="markdown-visible"></textarea>
+                    <div id="chat-preview" class="markdown-preview"></div>
+                </div>
                 <button onclick="sendMessage()">Send</button>
             </div>
         </div>
@@ -829,6 +952,57 @@
             }
         });
 
+        // Markdown preview functionality
+        let currentTab = '{{.MarkdownPreviewDefault}}' || 'edit';
+        let previewUpdateTimeout;
+        
+        function switchMarkdownTab(tab) {
+            currentTab = tab;
+            const textarea = document.getElementById('chat-input-text');
+            const preview = document.getElementById('chat-preview');
+            const tabs = document.querySelectorAll('.markdown-tab');
+            
+            // Update tab styling
+            tabs.forEach(t => {
+                if (t.dataset.tab === tab) {
+                    t.classList.add('active');
+                } else {
+                    t.classList.remove('active');
+                }
+            });
+            
+            // Show/hide content
+            if (tab === 'edit') {
+                textarea.classList.add('markdown-visible');
+                preview.classList.remove('markdown-visible');
+                textarea.focus();
+            } else {
+                textarea.classList.remove('markdown-visible');
+                preview.classList.add('markdown-visible');
+                updatePreview();
+            }
+        }
+        
+        function updatePreview() {
+            const textarea = document.getElementById('chat-input-text');
+            const preview = document.getElementById('chat-preview');
+            const content = textarea.value;
+            
+            if (content.trim() === '') {
+                preview.innerHTML = '<p style="opacity: 0.5; font-style: italic;">Nothing to preview. Type some markdown in the Edit tab.</p>';
+            } else {
+                preview.innerHTML = renderMarkdownPreview(content);
+            }
+        }
+        
+        // Update preview on input (debounced)
+        document.getElementById('chat-input-text').addEventListener('input', () => {
+            if (currentTab === 'preview') {
+                clearTimeout(previewUpdateTimeout);
+                previewUpdateTimeout = setTimeout(updatePreview, 300);
+            }
+        });
+
         window.onload = function() {
             connectWebSocket();
             const messagesContainer = document.getElementById('chat-messages');
@@ -906,6 +1080,9 @@
                 originalSendMessage();
             };
             
+            // Initialize markdown preview tab based on user preference
+            switchMarkdownTab(currentTab);
+            
             // Initial check for scroll position
             checkScrollPosition();
         };