Dana Scully is an FBI special agent, partner to agent Fox Mulder. They work out of the cramped basement office at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. to investigate unsolved cases labeled "X-Files". In contrast to Fox Mulder's credulous "believer" character, Scully is a skeptic, choosing to base her beliefs on scientific explanations. However, as the series progresses, she becomes more open to the possibility of paranormal happenings.

In season eight she is assigned a new partner (Agent John Doggett) after Mulder is abducted by aliens. Later in the same season she leaves the X-Files office, to be replaced by Agent Monica Reyes. She has appeared in both The X-Files feature films.