Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds; Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick (including the PRO Duo); and the even smaller Memory Stick Micro (M2). In December 2006 Sony added the Memory Stick PRO-HG, a high speed variant of the PRO to be used in high definition still and video cameras.

The original memory stick was available in sizes up to 128 MB, and a sub-version, Memory Stick Select allowed two banks of 128 MB selectable by a slider switch, essentially two cards squeezed into one. The largest capacity Memory Sticks currently available is 16 GB which was unveiled at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. According to Sony, the Memory Stick PRO has a maximum theoretical size of 2 TB.

Typically, Memory Sticks are used as storage media for a portable device, in a form that can easily be removed for access by a personal computer. For example, Sony digital compact cameras use Memory Sticks for storing image files. With a Memory Stick-capable Memory card reader a user can copy the pictures taken with the Sony digital camera to a computer.

Sony has been using Memory Sticks in digital cameras, digital music players, PDAs, cellular phones, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), and other devices. Sony VAIO line of personal computers has long included Memory Stick slots. The exception for now is the A100 DSLR camera which actually has a CompactFlash slot, although the new A700 DSLR camera is compatible with Compactflash and Memory Stick Pro Duo formats.

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