微流控是一种精确控制和操控微尺度流体的技术，尤其特指亚微米结构的技术。 特别的，微意味着以下的特性：

微流控利用对于微尺度下流体的控制，是一个包括了工程学，物理学，化学，微加工和生物工程的多交叉学科。

微流控在20世纪80年代兴起，并在DNA芯片，芯片实验室，微进样技术，微热力学技术得到了发展。

微流控研究的空间特征尺度范围在1微米(10米)至1毫米(10米)。

Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field intersecting engineering, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, with practical applications to the design of systems in which low volumes of fluids are processed to achieve multiplexing, automation, and high-throughput screening. Microfluidics emerged in the beginning of the 1980s and is used in the development of inkjet printheads, DNA chips, lab-on-a-chip technology, micro-propulsion, and micro-thermal technologies. It deals with the behavior, precise control and manipulation of fluids that are geometrically constrained to a small, typically sub-millimeter, scale. Typically, micro means one of the following features: