Velvet antler is the whole cartilaginous antler in a precalcified growth stage of the Cervidae family, including the species of deer, such as red deer, elk, moose, and caribou. A velvet antler is covered in a hairy, soft "skin" known as velvet, with the developing antler having rounded tines during its annual growth and remaining uncalcified.

Velvet antler preparations are sold in China as part of traditional Chinese medicine, and in some countries as a dietary supplement. Marketing claims of health effects are not supported by scientific evidence, and the US Food and Drug Administration has warned companies selling the products about false advertising.

Most of the world's supply of velvet antler comes from Sika deer, red deer, and elk (also called wapiti), including a large deer ranching industry in New Zealand. New Zealand is the world's largest producer of velvet. Australia, China, Russia, United States, and Canada also produce velvet antler products for the supplement market.

Moose, elk and deer produce new antlers yearly (primarily males, except in caribou/reindeer). In New Zealand, deer are subjected to local anesthesia and restrained during antler removal, and the procedure is supervised by licensed veterinarians. Typically, the antler is cut off near the base after it is about two-thirds of its potential full size, between 55 and 65 days of growth, before any significant calcification occurs. The procedure is generally done around June in the Northern Hemisphere and December in the Southern Hemisphere.

Velvet antler has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that classifies many similar substances from a variety of species under the Chinese character name 鹿茸; (pinyin: lùróng) and the commercial name cornu cervi pantorichum. The two common species used in the TCM system are sika deer and red deer which are thought to be useful for treating yang deficiency syndromes.

In Asia, velvet antler is dried and sold as slices, or as a powder which may be boiled in water, usually with other herbs and ingredients, and consumed as a soup. In the traditional commercial trade of Korea and China, whole stick antler velvet is divided into three sections based upon their supposed properties. Although there is an absence of uniform standardization, these sections are known as the wax piece (uppers or tips), the blood piece (middles), and the bone piece (bottoms): the wax piece may be marketed as a growth tonic for children, the blood piece supposedly for joint and bone effects, and the bone piece supposedly for calcium deficiency and geriatric needs. Early commercial activity in Russia between the 1930s and 1980s led to the production of an alcohol extract from deer antler velvet marketed under the Russian drug trade name Pantocrin (also pantocrine or pantokrin).

In the West, velvet antler is dried, powdered, and consumed in encapsulated form or via aqueous alcohol extract as a dietary supplement, for which it is monitored for potential manufacturing and advertising violations by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.

A review published in 2012 summarized results from clinical research, including three studies on sports performance: "Claims that velvet antler supplements have beneficial effects for any human condition are not supported by sound clinical data from human trials."