蜡染，古称蜡缬，是一种古老的手工防染工艺，与绞缬（扎染）、夹缬并列为中国古代染缬工艺的三种基本类型。

除了中国少数民族之外，蜡染的传统在全球许多国家都有发现，包含印尼、马来西亚、新加坡、印度、斯里兰卡、菲律宾、以及尼日利亚；不过印尼的蜡染是最为世人所熟知的。印尼爪哇岛的蜡染制法有历经很长时期的文化适应，受到多种文化影响的结果而拥有丰富多元的样式，也是目前世界上样式、技术、以及工匠技巧发展最完整的地区 。2009年10月，联合国教科文组织将印尼的蜡染纳入人类重要口传与无形文化资产。

Batik (Javanese pronunciation: [ˈbateʔ]; Indonesian: [ˈbatɪk]) is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth, or cloth made using this technique. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a canting (IPA: [ʈ͡ʂantiŋ], also spelled tjanting), or by printing the resist with a copper stamp called a cap (IPA: [ʈ͡ʂap], also spelled tjap). The applied wax resists dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water, and repeating if multiple colours are desired.