信息(数据)融合是一个实时的连续的过程，它多层次、多方面地对多源信息进行探测、联想、估计以及组合处理,其目的是获得精确的被测目标的状态、一致性估计和完整的实时评价。本概念源于军事领域，现已向其他信息科学领域拓展。

Information integration (II) (also called deduplication and referential integrity) is the merging of information from heterogeneous sources with differing conceptual, contextual and typographical representations. It is used in data mining and consolidation of data from unstructured or semi-structured resources. Typically, information integration refers to textual representations of knowledge but is sometimes applied to rich-media content. Information fusion, which is a related term, involves the combination of information into a new set of information towards reducing uncertainty.