Active or adaptive suspension is an automotive technology that controls the vertical movement of the wheels with an onboard system rather than the movement being determined entirely by the road surface. The system virtually eliminates body roll and pitch variation in many driving situations including cornering, accelerating, and braking.

This technology allows car manufacturers to achieve a greater degree of ride quality and car handling by keeping the tires perpendicular to the road in corners, allowing better traction and control.

An onboard computer detects body movement from sensors throughout the vehicle and, using data calculated by opportune control techniques, controls the action of the suspension.

Active suspensions can be generally divided into two main classes: pure active suspensions and semi-active suspensions.

Active suspensions, the first to be introduced, use separate actuators which can exert an independent force on the suspension to improve the riding characteristics. The drawbacks of this design (at least today) are high cost, added complication/mass of the apparatus, and the need for rather frequent maintenance on some implementations. Maintenance can be problematic, since only a factory-authorized dealer will have the tools and mechanics with knowledge of the system, and some problems can be difficult to diagnose.