Propofol is a short-acting intravenous anesthetic agent used for the induction of general anesthesia in adult patients and pediatric patients older than 3 years of age; maintenance of general anesthesia in adult patients and pediatric patients older than 2 months of age; and sedation in medical contexts, such as intensive care unit (ICU) sedation for intubated, mechanically ventilated adults, and in procedures such as colonoscopy. It provides no analgesia.

Propofol is approved for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia in more than 50 countries.

It is also commonly used in veterinary medicine and many veterinary anaesthetists regard it as the induction agent of choice for small animals (dogs, cats etc) as it can be administered to effect, reducing the risk of accidental overdose.