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arXiv is a free, open-access repository of electronic preprints for research papers in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, statistics, electrical engineering and systems science, and economics. The name arXiv is a play on the word "archive" and the scientific notation of preprints in the field of physics, where x is the Greek letter chi.

It was founded in 1991 by Paul Ginsparg and is hosted by Cornell University. arXiv has become a major resource for researchers to disseminate their findings quickly and widely. While it hosts preprints, meaning papers that have not yet undergone formal peer review, it is widely used by scientists to share their latest research. Many journals accept submissions that have previously appeared on arXiv.

The submission process on arXiv is automated and requires users to register. Papers are then made publicly available after a moderation process to ensure they are within the scope of arXiv's subject areas. Users can browse and search the archives by subject, author, or title. Many papers on arXiv are eventually published in peer-reviewed journals, but the preprint serves as an important way to share research in advance of publication.