Naphtha is a volatile mixture of liquid hydrocarbons boiling in the range 80°C to 180°C, used as a solvent. Naphtha is obtained by distilling coal tar (yielding aromatic products) or shale oil, or from the refining and cracking of petroleum. Several types of products are now called naphtha, including coal-tar naphtha and petroleum naphtha. Petroleum naphtha contains aliphatic compounds and boils at higher temperatures than petrol and at lower temperatures than kerosene.

In the 1st century AD, "naphtha" was mentioned by Pliny the Elder. Alchemists used the word for various liquids of low boiling point.