Electroless plating also known as autocatalytic plating is a kind of plating method in which metal ions in plating bath can be reduced to metal and deposited on the surface of parts using appropriate reducing agent without applying current.

Electroless plating is a process of metal deposition by controlled redox reaction under catalysis metals. Compared with electroplating, electroless plating technology has the advantages of the uniform coating layer, small pinholes, no DC power supply equipment, deposition on non-conductors. Electroless plating technology has gradually replaced electroplating in many fields as an environmentally friendly surface treatment process due to less waste liquid discharge, less environmental pollution, and lower equipment investment. The disadvantage is it is still a lot more expensive than electroplating.