无烟火药（Smokeless powder）指取代黑火药的无烟发射药，例如硝化纤维。发射药（propellants）与炸药性质与使用完全不同，发射药多用于推动枪炮弹头或是火箭飞行。发射药无爆炸性（黑火药除外）。硝酸甘油，TNT，RDX 等物具有高爆炸性属于炸药，炸药本身无法当发射药使用，但硝酸甘油与RDX可能与其他发射药混合使用于高性能的混合发射药中。除了少数复古形式前膛枪使用黑火药外，现今枪炮的发射药皆是无烟火药。

Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery that produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the black powder they replaced. The term is unique to the United States and is generally not used in other English-speaking countries, which initially used proprietary names such as "Ballistite" and "Cordite" but gradually shifted to "propellant" as the generic term.