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Mites are small arthropods belonging to the class Arachnida and the subclass Acari. Mites are not a clade as they span two different groups of arachnids: the Acariformes are sister to the camel spiders, while the Parasitiformes are sister to the false scorpions; also, they exclude the ticks, order Ixodida, although ticks and mites are closely related. Mites are distantly related to spiders and scorpions.

The body is in two sections, the cephalothorax or prosoma (there is no separate head), and an opisthosoma. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.

Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body plan. Their small size makes them easily overlooked; some species live in water, many live in soil as decomposers, others live on plants, sometimes creating galls, while others again are predators or parasites. This last type includes the commercially important Varroa parasite of honey bees, as well as the scabies mite of humans. Most species are harmless to humans but a few are associated with allergies or may transmit diseases.