Static random-access memory (static RAM or SRAM) is a type of random-access memory (RAM) that uses latching circuitry (flip-flop) to store each bit. SRAM is volatile memory; data is lost when power is removed.

The static qualifier differentiates SRAM from dynamic random-access memory (DRAM):

Semiconductor bipolar SRAM was invented in 1963 by Robert Norman at Fairchild Semiconductor. Metal–oxide–semiconductor SRAM (MOS-SRAM) was invented in 1964 by John Schmidt at Fairchild Semiconductor. The first device was a 64-bit MOS p-channel SRAM.

SRAM was the main driver behind any new CMOS-based technology fabrication process since the 1960s, when CMOS was invented.

In 1964, Arnold Farber and Eugene Schlig, working for IBM, created a hard-wired memory cell, using a transistor gate and tunnel diode latch. They replaced the latch with two transistors and two resistors, a configuration that became known as the Farber-Schlig cell. That year they submitted an invention disclosure, but it was initially rejected. In 1965, Benjamin Agusta and his team at IBM created a 16-bit silicon memory chip based on the Farber-Schlig cell, with 84 transistors, 64 resistors, and 4 diodes.

In April 1969, Intel Inc. introduced its first product, Intel 3101, a SRAM memory chip intended to replace bulky magnetic-core memory modules; Its capacity was 64 bits and was based on bipolar junction transistors. It was designed by using rubylith.

Though it can be characterized as volatile memory, SRAM exhibits data remanence.

SRAM offers a simple data access model and does not require a refresh circuit. Performance and reliability are good and power consumption is low when idle. Since SRAM requires more transistors per bit to implement, it is less dense and more expensive than DRAM and also has a higher power consumption during read or write access. The power consumption of SRAM varies widely depending on how frequently it is accessed.