Git is a distributed version control system that allows developers to work independently and asynchronously on features or bug fixes through branches. Branches allow developers to commit changes frequently without disrupting the main codebase. If a branch is ready, a developer can merge the branch back into the main branch. Git also uses a commit and diff system to track changes at a file level, making it easy to revert changes or roll back to previous versions if needed. The distributed nature of Git provides advantages over centralized systems like SVN by allowing independent repositories and easy conflict resolution during merges.