The attorney general of West Virginia is the chief legal advisor to the West Virginia state government and is the state's chief law enforcement officer. The office was created by Article VII, Section 1 of the first Constitution of West Virginia in 1863. Under the current state constitution (1872), the attorney general is an executive department-level state constitutional officer, along with the governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and commissioner of agriculture. The attorney general is the ex officio reporter of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. The constitution further specifies that the attorney general shall reside in the seat of state government, Charleston, during their term of office. In Charleston, they are to maintain public records, books, and papers pertaining to their office, and perform all duties prescribed by state law. As of 2012, the attorney general receives a salary of $95,000 per year.

The attorney general gives their written opinions and advice upon questions of law to state officials, heads of state institutions, and prosecuting attorneys. They are also responsible for all litigation on behalf of the state government and state agencies and departments. The attorney general represents the state in all claims processed by the United States Court of Claims, prosecutes civil actions as prescribed by law, enforces the state consumer, antitrust, and preneed burial statutes, and enforces the West Virginia Human Rights Act and the West Virginia Fair Housing Act. The attorney general is also an ex officio member of the Board of Public Works, Council of Finance and Administration, Public Land Corporation, West Virginia Housing Fund, West Virginia Sheriff’s Bureau, Department of Public Safety Retirement Board, Bid Suspension Review Board, State Building Commission, Commission on Charitable Contributions, Women’s Commission, Multistate Tax Compact Advisory Committee, Records Management, and Preservation Advisory Committee.

To be eligible for election or appointment to the position, the attorney general candidate must be at least 25 years of age at the beginning of their term of service, and must have been a citizen of West Virginia for at least five years prior to their election or appointment. In 1872, when the second (and current) Constitution of West Virginia was enacted, the constitution averred that citizens residing in the state at the time of its enactment were also authorized to be elected or appointed as attorney general, regardless of the length of the residency in West Virginia. Their election can be held at any time as prescribed by law. The attorney general's term of office is four years and commences on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of the month of January following their election. If the office of attorney general should become vacant on account of death, resignation, or otherwise, the governor is authorized to select an appointee to hold that office until a successor can be elected and qualified.

Since West Virginia became a state on June 20, 1863, it has had 34 attorneys general, of whom 33 men have held the office (the inaugural attorney general, Aquilla B. Caldwell of Ohio County, served two nonconsecutive terms). Caldwell was the first Republican to hold the office, and Joseph Sprigg of Hampshire County was the first Democrat. Darrell McGraw, who held the position from 1993–2013, is the longest-serving attorney general and served the most consecutive terms, being elected to the office five times. The current attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, began his term on January 14, 2013 and is the first Republican to hold the office in 80 years since Howard B. Lee in 1933 and the first from Jefferson County. Six attorneys general have served as Governor of West Virginia.

List of attorneys general

No.	Attorney General		Term		Party		County of residence
			Start	End
1		Aquilla B. Caldwell	June 20, 1863		December 31, 1864		Republican	Ohio
2		Ephraim B. Hall	January 1, 1865	December 31, 1865		Republican	Marion
3		Edwin Maxwell	January 1, 1866	December 31, 1866		Republican	Harrison
4		Thayer Melvin	January 1, 1867	July 1, 1869		Republican	Ohio
5		Aquilla B. Caldwel	July 2, 1869	December 31, 1870		Republican	Ohio
6		Joseph Sprigg	January 1, 1871	December 31, 1872		Democratic	Hampshire
7		Henry M. Mathews	January 1, 1873	March 3, 1877		Democratic	Greenbrier
8		Robert White	March 4, 1877	March 3, 1881		Democratic	Hampshire
9		Cornelius Clarkson Watts	March 4, 1881	March 3, 1885		Democratic	Kanawha
10		Alfred Caldwell Jr.	March 4, 1885	March 3, 1893		Democratic	Ohio
11		Thomas S. Riley	March 4, 1893	March 3, 1897		Democratic	Ohio
12		Edgar P. Rucker	March 4, 1897	March 3, 1901		Republican	McDowell
13		Romeo H. Freer	March 4, 1901	March 3, 1905		Republican	Ritchie
14		Clark W. May	March 4, 1905	April 25, 1908		Republican	Lincoln
15		William G. Conley	May 9, 1908	March 3, 1913		Republican	Preston
16		Armistead Abraham Lilly	March 4, 1913	March 3, 1917		Republican	Raleigh
17		Edward T. England	March 4, 1917	March 3, 1925		Republican	Logan
18		Howard B. Lee	March 4, 1925	March 3, 1933		Republican	Mercer
19		Homer A. Holt	March 4, 1933	January 18, 1937		Democratic	Fayette
20		Clarence W. Meadows	January 18, 1937	May 16, 1942		Democratic	Raleigh
21		William S. Wysong	May 25, 1942	January 13, 1943		Democratic	Webster
22		James Kay Thomas	January 13, 1943	January 15, 1945		Democratic	Kanawha
23		Ira J. Partlow	January 15, 1945	November 7, 1949		Democratic	McDowell
24		William C. Marland	December 1, 1949	February 1, 1952		Democratic	Wyoming
25		Chauncey Browning Sr.	February 1, 1952	August 16, 1952		Democratic	Logan
26		John G. Fox	August 16, 1952	January 14, 1957		Democratic	Fayette
27		Wally Barron	January 14, 1957	January 16, 1961		Democratic	Randolph
28		C. Donald Robertson	January 16, 1961	January 13, 1969		Democratic	Harrison
29		Chauncey H. Browning Jr.	January 13, 1969	January 14, 1985		Democratic	Logan
30		Charlie Brown	January 14, 1985	August 21, 1989		Democratic	Kanawha
31		Roger W. Tompkins	September 5, 1989	January 14, 1991		Democratic	Kanawha
32		Mario Palumbo	January 14, 1991	January 18, 1993		Democratic	Kanawha
33		Darrell McGraw	January 18, 1993	January 14, 2013		Democratic	Wyoming
34		Patrick Morrisey	January 14, 2013	Incumbent		Republican	Jefferson