Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine that allows JavaScript to run on the server side. It is popular for building web servers and networking applications. The document provides an overview of Node.js, how to install it, differences from the browser, the V8 engine, an example app, and an introduction to NPM - the package manager for Node.js projects. NPM is used to install dependencies, update packages, and define scripts to run tasks like building assets or starting servers.