伪装是动物用来隐藏自己，或是欺骗其他动物的一种手段，不论是掠食者或是猎物，伪装的能力都会影响这些动物的生存机率，主要的方式包括了保护色、警戒色和拟态。

以保护色而言，有些物种进行季节性的换毛，例如在冬季会变白的雪兔；有些物种拥有固定的花纹，如老虎和斑马身上的条纹；还有一些物种能够根据环境进行快速变色，例如变色龙和章鱼所进行的生理色彩改变。

警戒色则是使本身显的更为显眼，由于许多具有鲜艳色彩的动物具有毒性或攻击性，如箭毒蛙、某些毒蛇和蜘蛛，因此鲜艳色彩对掠食者而言有警戒的效果。

拟态则是以模仿其他生物或物体的型态作为伪装手段，例如竹节虫与枯叶蝶。而且有些拥有拟态能力的动物，也同时具备了保护色或是警戒色。

Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see (crypsis), or by disguising them as something else (mimesis). Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid's wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling.