The karyotype is the chromosomal complement of a typical somatic (body) cell of an individual, species, or cell strain, including the number, sizes, and shapes of chromosomes and any abnormalities present. All the body cells of an organism have the same karyotype. The number of chromosomes varies widely with species, for example 8 in fruit flies, 12 in kangaroos, 42 in humans, and 200 in crayfish.

The term 'karyotype' is also used to refer to a photograph of a set of chromosomes. A diagrammatic representation of a karyotype is sometimes called a karyogram or idiogram.