A FutureTask is a special type of task in Java programming that allows developers to run operations asynchronously. It implements the Runnable and Future interfaces, enabling it to be executed in a separate thread while also providing a way to retrieve the result once the task is complete. This makes it useful for tasks that may take time to complete, such as downloading files or processing data. When a FutureTask is created, it can be started using an Executor service, which manages the execution of multiple tasks. Once the task is finished, developers can check if it was successful and obtain the result or handle any exceptions that may have occurred during execution. This helps improve the efficiency and responsiveness of applications.