北极圈是指纬度数值为北纬66.5°的一个假想圈，是北寒带与北温带的分界线，与黄赤交角（南北回归线所在的纬度数值）余角。北极圈以北的地区被称为“北极圈内”。通常，北极圈内的地区被叫做北极地区，由北冰洋以及周边陆地组成，其陆地部分包括了格陵兰、北欧三国、俄罗斯北部、美国阿拉斯加北部以及加拿大北部。北极圈内岛屿很多，最大的是格陵兰岛。由于严寒，北极圈以内的生物种类很少。植物以地衣、苔藓为主，动物有北极熊、海豹、鲸等。

北极圈也是极昼和极夜现象开始出现的界线，北极圈以北的地区在夏天会出现极昼，而在冬天会出现极夜。

The Arctic Circle is the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south is called the Northern Temperate Zone. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore visible at midnight) and below the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore not visible at noon); this is also true within the equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere, the Antarctic Circle.