奥运会项目由国际奥林匹克委员会指定可以在夏季奥林匹克运动会及冬季奥林匹克运动会上进行比赛的运动项目。
要被列入夏季奥运项目列表的运动，必须在四大洲至少有75个国家或地区被广泛的进行。
水上运动 – 皮划艇 – 自行车 – 体操 – 排球 – 马术 – 摔跤
以下列表显现出现时入选为夏季奥运会的比赛项目（数目代表比赛项目的小项数目，•代表表演项目）：
表演项目最初是在1912年斯德哥尔摩奥运会上被正式引入，但是1900年至1908年举行奥运会都曾经举办表演项目，因此引起重要性存在争议。有部分表演项目及后经国际奥委会通过成为正式比赛项目
夏季奥运会比赛项目是基于普及划分类别，由票卷销量、电视收视率、媒体报导等因素来衡量。本分类将决定该项运动的国际运动总会获得的奥运收入分红。
目前分类是:
要被列入冬季奥运项目列表的运动，必须在三大洲至少有25个国家或地区被广泛的进行。以下列表显现出冬季奥运的项目：
1 军事巡逻，见下文。
以下运动项目曾是表演项目，但没有成为正式的比赛项目:
Many sports are not recognized as Olympic sports although their governing bodies are recognized by the IOC. Such sports, if eligible under the terms of the Olympic Charter, may apply for inclusion in the program of future Games, through a recommendation by the IOC Olympic Programme Commission, followed by a decision of the IOC Executive Board and a vote of the IOC Session. When Olympic demonstration sports were allowed, a sport usually appeared as such before being officially admitted. An International Sport Federation (IF) is responsible for ensuring that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter. When a sport is recognized the IF become an official Olympic sport federation and can assemble with other Olympic IFs in the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF, for summer sports contested in the Olympic Games), Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWS, for winter sports contested in the Olympic Games) or Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF, for sports not contested in the Olympic Games). A number of recognized sports are included in the program of the World Games, a multi-sport event run by the International World Games Association, an organization that operates under the patronage of the IOC. Since the start of the World Games in 1981, a number of sports, including badminton, taekwondo, and triathlon have all subsequently been incorporated into the Olympic program.
The governing bodies of the following sports, though not contested in the Olympic Games, are recognized by the IOC:
1 世界运动会官方项目
2 过去奥运项目
3 无法列为奥运项目因为不能使用机械动力
4 2013年棒球和垒球的理事机构合并成为一个国际联合会。
