Transwarp drive was a type of propulsion technology that overcame the limitations of conventional warp drives.

The USS Excelsior was employed by Starfleet to test the Federation's version of the transwarp drive in 2285. The initial performance tests were a failure and the ship remained in Spacedock for the next two years. Dilithium used in all Federation warp cores became unstable at the high warp frequency essential in the Federation transwarp design. Achieving warp 10 was never possible on the Excelsior.

In 2372, a new form of dilithium was discovered from an asteroid field in the Delta Quadrant by the crew of the USS Voyager, which stayed stable at high frequencies. Lieutenant Tom Paris succeeded in exceeding warp 10 into transwarp, but the subsequent mutagenic effect the process had on his DNA prevented anyone from following up that line of exploration for the foreseeable future.

The Voth have also perfected their own transwarp drive design. This technology produced no harmful effects to DNA or an expansion of awareness. Voth ships could also move between regular warp and transwarp. As a ship exited transwarp, a spatial displacement was registered if the ship was not cloaked.