JUnit is a unit testing framework for Java that allows developers to write test cases to validate code. Key features include annotations to mark test cases and setup/teardown methods, assertions to validate expected results, and the ability to generate HTML reports of test results. Code coverage tools like EclEmma measure which lines and conditions of code are executed by tests, helping developers ensure their tests cover all relevant parts of the code. Maintaining a high level of test coverage can improve code quality and help identify unused code.