JPA (Java Persistence API) is a Java specification for managing relational data in applications using Java EE or Java SE environments. It provides a high-level abstraction over database access, allowing developers to work with objects rather than database tables. JPA incorporates object-relational mapping (ORM) techniques to map Java objects to relational database entities, and provides features such as entity relationships, inheritance mapping, and query capabilities. It is widely used in Java applications to simplify data access and management tasks.