A spermatozoon (alternate spelling spermatozoön; plural spermatozoa) is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote. (A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromosomes, that normally develops into an embryo.) The term spermatozoon comes from the Greek word σπέρμα (seed) and ζῷον (living being).

Sperm cells contribute approximately half of the nuclear genetic information to the diploid offspring (excluding, in most cases, mitochondrial DNA). In mammals, the sex of the offspring is determined by the sperm cell: a spermatozoon bearing a Y chromosome will lead to a male (XY) offspring, while one bearing an X chromosome will lead to a female (XX) offspring—the ovum always providing an X chromosome. Sperm cells were first observed by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in 1677.

The human sperm cell is the reproductive cell in males and will only survive in warm environments, once leaving the body the sperm's survival is reduced and may cause the cell to die, decreasing the sperm quality. Sperm cells come in two types, "female" and "male". Sperm cells that give rise to female (XX) offspring after fertilization differ in that they carry an X-chromosome, while sperm cells that give rise to male (XY) offspring carry a Y-chromosome.