Breast torture (also called breast play or tit torture) is a BDSM activity in which sexual stimulation is provided through the intentional application of physical pain or constriction to the breasts, areolae or nipples of a submissive. It is a popular activity among the kink community. The recipient of such activities may wish to receive them as a result of masochism or they may have a desire to please a dominant who is sadistic. Those involved may also be motivated by breast fetishism. Mild breast torture such as light impact play on the breasts is also occasionally used outside of the BDSM context to provide stimulation and pleasure during conventional sex.

The breasts are sometimes used to satisfy a desire for erotic humiliation. Cruel or disparaging references to the breasts can be used to produce verbal humiliation, while physical humiliation can be achieved through discipline techniques such as breast punishment.

Kink and BDSM activities are never completely free from risk, but some forms of breast torture, such as the use of clothespins on nipples, light flagellation and simple breast bondage, are considered to be relatively safe and benign. In contrast, some forms of breast torture, such as severe caning, amateur piercing, or being suspended by the breasts, are considered edge activities that can include great risk. Anatomically the breasts do not allow someone to be safely suspended by their breasts through suspension bondage techniques. All forms of breast torture require adequate precautions to prevent injury or blood loss.

There are a variety of techniques used for breast torture, and they are sometimes combined to produce a greater erotic effect.

Nipple torture, also called BDSM nipple play, is the application of erotic pain to the nipples. It is a popular element of breast torture. It can include biting, sucking, pinching and roughly touching or rubbing the nipples and the areolae. Submissives who experience it often enjoy it, even though it is painful. Some people find their nipples to be more erotically sensitive than their genitals. They are an erogenous zone of the body and their stimulation using techniques such as pinching can in some cases lead to orgasm.

During the 1970s, a study of S&M-themed contact magazines and club members in Germany identified nipple torture as one of the six most popular activities. BDSM literature sometimes shows household items attached to erect nipples to provide a pinching sensation. These include clothespins, mousetraps, clothes hangers with integral clips, or pairs of chopsticks with elastic bands wrapped around each end. If the nipples are prominent enough they can have elastic bands secured directly round them.

There are commercially produced apparatus designed for nipple torture such as the nipple clamp, a device which is sold as a type of sex toy. With many types of nipple clamps the degree of tightness is variable and the amount of pain produced is dependent upon how tightly they are applied. The pinching restricts the blood flow and, when the attachments are removed, further pain may be caused by the return of normal blood flow. Clamps may have smooth surfaces, plastic or rubber fittings or jagged edges. The last of these increases the pain when weights hung from the clamps tighten the pinch or add a tugging sensation that varies as the wearer moves. Nipple clamps are sometimes sold with a chain connecting them so that a dominant can pull on it to create tension. Alternatively nipple clamps may be attached to ropes, chains, or wall fixtures.

Twisting the nipples produces a painful sensation and nipple pain can be intensified by twisting nipple clamps, an action which pushes the nipple into the breast. A titty twister is a BDSM device used to inflict pain on the breasts and especially the nipples in this way. They are made in a variety of styles, but all have nipple clamps that can be made to rotate once in position, twisting the breasts and nipples of the person wearing the device.