Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use. Metallurgy is distinguished from the craft of metalworking.

The word was originally (1593) an alchemist's term for the extraction of metals from minerals: the ending -urgy signifying a process, especially manufacturing: it was in this sense it was used by the 1797 Encyclopaedia Britannica. In the late 19th century it was extended to the more general scientific study of metals and alloys and related processes. The roots are borrowed from Ancient Greek: μεταλλουργός, matallourgos, "worker in metal", from μέταλλον, metallon, "metal" + ἔργον, ergon, "work". In English, the /meˈtælədʒi/ pronunciation is the more common one in the UK and Commonwealth. The /ˈmetələrdʒi/ pronunciation is the more common one in the USA, and is the first-listed variant in various American dictionaries (e.g., Merriam-Webster Collegiate, American Heritage).