Middleware in Django is a framework of hooks into the request/response processing. It allows developers to modify requests, responses, and perform tasks like authentication and logging.

Middleware in Django serves as a framework of hooks that allows developers to process requests and responses globally before they reach the view or after the view has processed them. It acts as a layer between the request and response phases, providing a mechanism to modify, log, or process data. Middleware can be used for a variety of tasks, including authentication, session management, user tracking, and content compression. Each middleware component is a callable that takes a request and returns a response, enabling the execution of custom logic at different stages of the request/response cycle. For instance, middleware can check if a user is authenticated before processing a request or log information about incoming requests for auditing purposes. Django provides several built-in middleware classes, such as AuthenticationMiddleware and SessionMiddleware, and developers can create custom middleware to cater to specific application needs. By leveraging middleware, developers can maintain cleaner views and ensure that cross-cutting concerns are handled consistently across the application.