Theravada is the ancient Buddhist school most closely associated with the Pali Canon.
The Pali Canon, also called the Tipiṭaka or “Three Baskets,” is the principal scriptural collection preserved by the Theravada tradition. It contains the Vinaya Piṭaka, rules for monastic discipline; the Sutta Piṭaka, discourses; and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, systematic teachings and analysis.
The canon was transmitted orally for centuries before being written down in Sri Lanka, traditionally during the reign of King Vattagamani Abhaya in the first century BCE. It is written in Pali, a Middle Indo-Aryan literary language closely related to the speech forms used in early Buddhist transmission.
The association does not mean every Buddhist tradition accepts the Pali Canon as its complete scripture. Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions preserve additional sutras and tantras, often in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, or other languages. “Hinayana” is also not a synonym for Theravada and is generally considered a polemical historical label. The Pali Canon is therefore the canonical collection most specifically linked with Theravada Buddhism.