Search and rescue (acronym SAR) is an operation mounted by emergency services, often well-trained volunteers, to find someone believed to be in distress, lost, sick or injured either in a remote or difficult to access area, such as mountains, desert or forest ("Wilderness search and rescue"), or at sea, whether close to shore or not. The term can also be applied in urban situations when young children or senile people wander away from their homes and cannot be found.

Urban search and rescue (also known as Suburan Search and Rescue as USAR Teams often relates to structural collapses and other technical rescue) operations are Search and Rescue operations conducted in a city. One of the most common is searching for people buried as a result of a building collapse, as might happen after an earthquake. Sometimes, urban searches are performed for missing persons with certain criteria (example, a missing Alzheimer's patient with a history of wandering away from their home). Also, a wilderness search may transition into an urban search. This is common when lost children are involved.

Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) is a function of special military units during wartime. CSAR consists of operations carried out to retrieve, rescue and provide assistance to downed aircrews or allies behind enemy lines. CSAR missions generally have the mission's aircrews well armed as they cross into enemy territory. One famous CSAR mission was the rescue of US Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady after he was shot down over Bosnia in 1995. More recent examples include Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan, and the famous Battle of Mogadishu in which the "Blackhawk Down" incident occurred.