自我复制（Self-replication） 是动力系统的一种行为，这种行为可以产生出和自身相同的结构。在适当的环境下，细胞会通过细胞分裂进行自我复制。在细胞分裂的过程中，DNA完成了自我复制，并且可以通过繁殖传递给后代。生物病毒也可以自我复制，但是必须在感染过程中使用寄主细胞内的复制机制。有害的朊病毒是一种蛋白质，它可以通过将正常的蛋白质变为有害的朊病毒而自我复制。 计算机病毒可以使用计算机的软件和硬件自我复制。自我复制是机器人学中的研究课题，也是科学幻想中的热门主题。自我复制机制常常不会完美地复制个体，而是通过遗传变异来产生各种差异。这些变异会成为自然选择的基础，其中一些有利于在现有环境下生存的变异会保留下来，而其他的会被淘汰。

Self-replication is any behavior of a dynamical system that yields construction of an identical copy of itself. Biological cells, given suitable environments, reproduce by cell division. During cell division, DNA is replicated and can be transmitted to offspring during reproduction. Biological viruses can replicate, but only by commandeering the reproductive machinery of cells through a process of infection. Harmful prion proteins can replicate by converting normal proteins into rogue forms. Computer viruses reproduce using the hardware and software already present on computers. Self-replication in robotics has been an area of research and a subject of interest in science fiction. Any self-replicating mechanism which does not make a perfect copy will experience genetic variation and will create variants of itself. These variants will be subject to natural selection, since some will be better at surviving in their current environment than others and will out-breed them.