在量子力学里，一个粒子因为自旋与轨道运动而产生的作用，称为自旋-轨道作用（英语：Spin–orbit interaction），也称作自旋-轨道效应或自旋-轨道耦合。最著名的例子是电子能级的位移。电子移动经过原子核的电场时，会产生电磁作用．电子的自旋与这电磁作用的耦合，形成了自旋-轨道作用。谱线分裂实验明显地侦测到电子能级的位移，证实了自旋-轨道作用理论的正确性。另外一个类似的例子是原子核壳层模型能级的位移。

半导体或其它新颖材料常常会涉及电子的自旋-轨道效应。自旋电子学专门研究与应用这方面的问题。

In quantum physics, the spin–orbit interaction (also called spin–orbit effect or spin–orbit coupling) is an interaction of a particle's spin with its motion. The first and best known example of this is that spin–orbit interaction causes shifts in an electron's atomic energy levels due to electromagnetic interaction between the electron's spin and the magnetic field generated by the electron's orbit around the nucleus. This is detectable as a splitting of spectral lines, known as the Zeeman Effect. A similar effect, due to the relationship between angular momentum and the strong nuclear force, occurs for protons and neutrons moving inside the nucleus, leading to a shift in their energy levels in the nucleus shell model. In the field of spintronics, spin–orbit effects for electrons in semiconductors and other materials are explored for technological applications. The spin–orbit interaction is one cause of magnetocrystalline anisotropy.