A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is means helping readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.

The initial British term concerning a type of government-issued document has proliferated, taking a somewhat new meaning in business. In business, a white paper is closer to a form of marketing presentation, a tool means persuading customers and partners and promoting a product or viewpoint, White papers may be consider as grey literature.

Since the early 1990s, the term "white paper", or "whitepaper", has been applied to documents used as marketing or sale tool in business.