A Distributed Hash Table (DHT) is a decentralized architecture that enables efficient data storage and retrieval across a network of nodes. Each node in a DHT maintains a portion of the key-value pairs, allowing for scalable and fault-tolerant data access. DHTs are commonly used in peer-to-peer networks where nodes can join or leave at any time, ensuring that data remains available without a central server. The DHT algorithm defines how nodes are organized and how data is located, which is often achieved through consistent hashing to map keys to specific nodes.