Magnetoception (or magnetoreception as it was first referred to in 1972) is a sense which allows an animal to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude or location. This sense has been proposed to explain the navigational abilities of several animal species and has been postulated as a method for animals to develop regional maps. For the purpose of navigation, magnetoception deals with the detection of the Earth’s magnetic field.

Magnetoception has been observed in bacteria. It has also been commonly hypothesized in birds, where sensing of the Earth's magnetic field may be important to the navigational abilities during migration; fungi, insects (including fruit flies and honeybees), and animals such as turtles, lobsters, sharks and stingrays.

An unequivocal demonstration of the use of magnetic fields for orientation within an organism has been in a class of bacteria known as magnetotactic bacteria. These bacteria demonstrate a behavioural phenomenon known as magnetotaxis, in which the bacteria orients itself and migrates in the direction along the Earth's magnetic field lines. The bacteria contain magnetosomes, which are particles of magnetite or iron sulfide enclosed within the bacteria cells. Each bacterium cell essentially acts as a magnetic dipole. They form in chains where the moments of each magnetosome align in parallel, giving the bacteria its permanent-magnet characteristics. These chains are formed symmetrically to preserve the crystalline structure of the cells. These bacteria are said to have permanent magnetic sensitivity.