蚕业是一种养殖蚕并利用蚕的蛹来纺织丝绸的养殖业。

根据考古研究，公元前2700年就已经能发现蚕吐出来的丝绸，而养蚕文化可能在中国的仰韶文化时期就已经出现。而根据中国古代的神话传说，养蚕业则始于黄帝的妻子嫘祖。在古代中国，蚕业被视为机密，不允许出口相关的技术。一直到公元前3世纪左右，中国以外的地区并不知道丝绸的存在，而过了这一时期以后，日本和欧洲等地才出现丝绸的踪迹。它的柔软、强韧以及艳丽令人感到非常吃惊。不过公元前200左右，借助中国移民的帮助，朝鲜半岛地区掌握了养蚕的技术。印度也在公元3世纪左右学会了养蚕的技术。根据传说，公元550年时几个僧侣将蚕蛹藏在手杖内带回了罗马。l穆斯林在丝绸技术向欧洲传播的过程中也起了很大的作用。

Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori (the caterpillar of the domesticated silk moth) is the most widely used and intensively studied silkworm. Silk was first produced in China as early as the Neolithic period. Sericulture has become an important cottage industry in countries such as Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Russia. Today, China and India are the two main producers, with more than 60% of the world's annual production.