A Dutch auction, which is also known as an open descending price auction, is an auction where a high price is set and lowers until bidders start to participate in the auction. In the traditional Dutch auction the auctioneer begins with a high asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer's price. The winning participant pays the last announced price.

The Dutch auction is named for its best known example, the Dutch tulip auctions.

The term "Dutch auction" is sometimes used to describe online auctions where several identical goods are sold simultaneously to an equal number of high bidders. In addition to cut flower sales in the Netherlands, Dutch auctions have also been used for perishable commodities such as fish and tobacco. However, the Dutch auction is not widely used in common practice.