不饱和脂肪是指至少含有一个双键的脂肪或脂肪酸链。如果只有一个双键，则称为单元不饱和脂肪；含有两个双键以上的则称为多元不饱和脂肪。当双键形成时，一对氢原子会被消除，因而与碳原子相结合的氢原子未达到最大值，即“不饱和”。在细胞的新陈代谢中，不饱和脂肪所产生的能量相比饱和脂肪较少。脂肪的不饱和程度越高（双键数量越多），其过氧化的可能性越高，从而越容易对人体健康不利。这时需要抗氧化物来防止这一情况的发生。

An unsaturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain. A fatty acid chain is monounsaturated if it contains one double bond, and polyunsaturated if it contains more than one double bond.

Where double bonds are formed, hydrogen atoms are subtracted from the carbon chain. Thus, a saturated fat has no double bonds, has the maximum number of hydrogens bonded to the carbons, and therefore is "saturated" with hydrogen atoms. In cellular metabolism, unsaturated fat molecules contain somewhat less energy (i.e., fewer calories) than an equivalent amount of saturated fat. The greater the degree of unsaturation in a fatty acid (i.e., the more double bonds in the fatty acid) the more vulnerable it is to lipid peroxidation (rancidity). Antioxidants can protect unsaturated fat from lipid peroxidation.