Errant polychaete annelids were collected from the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of North Carolina. Additional polychaete specimens from offshore areas of North Carolina, previously deposited by others in the Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, N.C., and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., were examined. Keys are presented for 22 families, 87 genera, and 163 species. Most species are described, and one or more figures of each species are included to aid identification. Two species are revised; three new species are described; one family, seven genera, and 17 species are newly recorded from North Carolina.