A chemolithotroph is able to use inorganic reduced compounds in its energy-producing reactions. This process involves the oxidation of inorganic compounds coupled to ATP synthesis. The majority of chemolithotrophs are chemolithoautotrophs, able to fix carbon dioxide (CO) through the Calvin cycle, a metabolic pathway in which CO is converted to glucose.  This group of organisms includes sulfur oxidizers, nitrifying bacteria, iron oxidizers, and hydrogen oxidizers.
The term "chemolithotrophy" refers to a cell's acquisition of energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds, also known as electron donors. This form of metabolism is believed to occur only in prokaryotes and was first characterized by Ukrainian microbiologist Sergei Winogradsky.