Ice navigation is a specialist area of navigation involving the use of maritime skills to determine and monitor the position of ships in cold waters, where ice is a hazard to the safety of navigation. The presence of sea ice requires a ship to exercise caution, for example by avoiding icebergs, slowly sailing through a lead, or by working with an icebreaker to follow a course through the ice to a destination. Additionally ships must also deal with the extreme cold of the climate in regions such as the poles; this involves removal of ice accumulation from the ship, as well as protecting the crew from the elements while working on the deck. Ships and their crews operating in ice will follow established rules of seamanship, as well as complying with national and international regulations such as the Polar Code.

Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, marine navigation, aeronautic navigation, and space navigation.