A bandanna, or bandana, is a large piece of cloth, which is square or triangular in shape and typically brightly colored with some sort of pattern or design. Sometimes called a kerchief, a bandanna is generally worn on the head or around the neck. The word "bandanna" comes from the Hindi word bandhana, which means “to tie.”

A bandanna is often made of cotton or cotton blend fabrics and are sold in hundreds of color variations. The most common print is paisley but there are also many different prints, designs, and patterns incorporated into different bandannas. Some are also made of different fabrics, including silk.

A bandanna is worn for both decorative and practical purposes. Practical uses for wearing a bandanna include working out doors or in hot conditions. Worn around the neck, a bandanna can be pulled up around the nose and mouth to lessen the inhalation of dust and debris. Worn around the head, a bandanna can prevent perspiration running into the eyes. Many athletes wear bandannas for similar reasons.

Another practical use for a bandanna that also serves a fashionable purpose is as a headscarf for cancer patients. There are hundreds of catalogs specializing in bandannas and other fashionable headgear for chemotherapy patients. Many other people elect to wear a bandanna or similar headgear solely as a fashion statement. They can cover the entire head or be fashioned into a headband that simply wraps around the forehead and ties in back.

Other uses for a bandanna include tying all four corners together to form a knapsack, substituting a bandanna for a handkerchief, cowboy and engineer costumes, and various other fashion statements. Certain colored bandannas have long been associated with gangs in urban areas, but most areas simply view them as fashionable headgear or practical accessories. The popular reality television show Survivor saw the revival of similar headgear called a buff, which differs from a bandanna in that a buff is a continuous band of fabric rather than a single layer, square piece of cloth.