红外通信技术利用红外线来传递数据，是无线通信技术的一种。

红外通信技术不需要实体连接，简单易用且实现成本较低，因而广泛应用于小型移动设备互换数据和电器设备的控制中，例如笔记本电脑、个人数码助理、移动电话之间或与电脑之间进行数据交换（个人网），电视机、空调的遥控器等。

由于红外线的直射特性，红外通信技术不适合传输障碍较多的地方，这种场合下一般选用无线电通信技术或蓝牙技术。红外通信技术多数情况下传输距离短、传输速率不高。

为解决多种设备之间的互连互通问题，1993年成立了红外数据协会（IrDA, Infrared Data Association）以创建统一的红外数据通信标准。1994年发表了IrDA 1.0规范。

The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) is an industry-driven interest group that was founded in 1993 by around 50 companies. IrDA provides specifications for a complete set of protocols for wireless infrared communications, and the name "IrDA" also refers to that set of protocols. The main reason for using IrDA had been wireless data transfer over the “last one meter” using point-and-shoot principles. Thus, it has been implemented in portable devices such as mobile telephones, laptops, cameras, printers, medical devices. Main characteristics of this kind of wireless optical communication is physically secure data transfer, line-of-sight (LOS) and very low bit error rate (BER) that makes it very efficient.