The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beating Hungary 4–2. Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams hold the distinction of being the only men's national team to win the World Cup multiple times under the same coach, Vittorio Pozzo. It would be the last World Cup until 1950; the 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to World War II.

France was chosen as host nation by FIFA in Berlin on 13 August 1936. France was chosen over Argentina and Germany in the first round of voting. The decision to hold a second consecutive tournament in Europe (after Italy in 1934) caused outrage in South America, where it was believed that the venue should alternate between the two continents. This was the last World Cup to be staged before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Because of the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, many Teams from the Americas did not join the competition or withdrew after an initial application. Most of the South American Teams, including Uruguay and Argentina, declined to take part in the competition after the controversy of the Peru v Austria match at the Football tournament of the 1936 Summer Olympics. The United States and Mexico joined the qualifying rounds but eventually withdrew. Argentina submitted a late application (which was accepted), before a definitive withdrawal due to disagreements between the National Federation and the local clubs. Spain meanwhile could not participate due to the ongoing Spanish Civil War.

It was the first time that the hosts, France, and the title holders, Italy, qualified automatically. Title holders were given an automatic entry into the World Cup from 1938 until 2002 (inclusive), since abolished.

Of the 14 remaining places, eleven were allocated to Europe, two to the Americas, and one to Asia. As a result, only three non-European nations took part: Brazil, Cuba and Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), the latter being the first Asian country to participate in a FIFA World Cup. This is the smallest ever number of teams from outside the host continent to compete at a FIFA World Cup.

Austria qualified for the World Cup, but after qualification was complete, the Anschluss united Austria with Germany. Austria subsequently did not take part to the tournament, with some Austrian players joining the German squad, although not including Austrian star player Matthias Sindelar, who refused to play for the unified team. Austria's place remained empty and Sweden, which would have been Austria's initial opponent, progressed directly to the second-round by default.

This tournament saw the first, and as of 2022^[update] the only, participation in a World Cup tournament from Cuba and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). It also saw the World Cup debuts of Poland and Norway. Romania would not qualify for another World Cup until 1970, Poland and the Netherlands would not reappear at a finals tournament until 1974, and Norway would not qualify for another World Cup finals until 1994. A unified Germany team would not appear again until 1994, although Austria returned in 1954 and finished in third place.

The following 16 teams originally qualified for the final tournament. However, 15 teams participated after Austria's withdrawal due to the Anschluss.