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Spin liquids are highly correlated yet disordered states formed by theentanglement of magnetic dipoles$^1$. Theories typically define such statesusing gauge fields and deconfined quasiparticle excitations that emerge from asimple rule governing the local ground state of a frustrated magnet. Forexample, the '2-in-2-out' ice rule for dipole moments on a tetrahedron can leadto a quantum spin ice in rare-earth pyrochlores - a state described by alattice gauge theory of quantum electrodynamics$^{2-4}$. However, f-electronions often carry multipole degrees of freedom of higher rank than dipoles,leading to intriguing behaviours and 'hidden' orders$^{5-6}$. Here we show thatthe correlated ground state of a Ce$^{3+}$-based pyrochlore, Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$,is a quantum liquid of magnetic octupoles. Our neutron scattering results areconsistent with the formation of a fluid-like state of matter, but theintensity distribution is weighted to larger scattering vectors, whichindicates that the correlated degrees of freedom have a more complexmagnetization density than that typical of magnetic dipoles in a spin liquid.The temperature evolution of the bulk properties in the correlated regime below1 Kelvin is well reproduced using a model of dipole-octupole doublets on apyrochlore lattice$^{7-8}$. The nature and strength of the octupole-octupolecouplings, together with the existence of a continuum of excitations attributedto spinons, provides further evidence for a quantum ice of octupoles governedby a '2-plus-2-minus' rule. Our work identifies Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ as a uniqueexample of a material where frustrated multipoles form a 'hidden' topologicalorder, thus generalizing observations on quantum spin liquids to multipolarphases that can support novel types of emergent fields and excitations.

A quantum liquid of magnetic octupoles on the pyrochlore lattice