An Asian option (or average value option) is a special type of option contract. For Asian options the payoff is determined by the average underlying price over some pre-set period of time. This is different from the case of the usual European option and American option, where the payoff of the option contract depends on the price of the underlying instrument at exercise; Asian options are thus one of the basic forms of exotic options. There are two types of Asian options: fixed strike, where averaging price is used in place of underlying price; and fixed price, where averaging price is used in place of strike.

One advantage of Asian options is that these reduce the risk of market manipulation of the underlying instrument at maturity. Another advantage of Asian options involves the relative cost of Asian options compared to European or American options. Because of the averaging feature, Asian options reduce the volatility inherent in the option; therefore, Asian options are typically cheaper than European or American options. This can be an advantage for corporations that are subject to the Financial Accounting Standards Board revised Statement No. 123, which required that corporations expense employee stock options.