Relational algebra is a procedural query language that uses relational operations like select, project, join, union, and set operations to perform queries on relational databases. It provides a step-by-step process to obtain the result of a query through selection, projection, set operations, joins, and renames. Common relational operations include selection (σ), projection (π), union (U), intersection (∩), difference (-), cartesian product (X), and rename (ρ).