The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games (Spanish: XVI Juegos Panamericanos) and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno and Tapalpa. It was the largest multi-sport event of 2011, with approximately 6,000 athletes from 42 nations participating in 36 sports. Both the Pan American and Parapan American Games were organized by the Guadalajara 2011 Organizing Committee (COPAG). The 2011 Pan American Games were the third Pan American Games hosted by Mexico (the first country to do so) and the first held in the state of Jalisco. Previously, Mexico hosted the 1955 Pan American Games and the 1975 Pan American Games, both in Mexico City. The 2011 Parapan American Games were held 20 days after the Pan American Games had ended.

Following PASO tradition, Jalisco governor Emilio González Márquez and then Guadalajara mayor Alfonso Petersen Farah received the Pan American Sports Organization flag during the closing ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was officially opened by the President of Mexico Felipe Calderón. Brett Fraser, a swimmer from the Cayman Islands, won the first Pan American Games gold medal for his country, while Saint Kitts and Nevis won its first ever Pan American Games medal of any kind.

PASO selected the city unanimously as the host for 16th Pan American Games on Friday, June 2, 2006, at its 44th general assembly held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Guadalajara was the only city to officially bid for the 2011 Pan American Games. This may have been in part due to no announced and/or open candidature period for the event. Guadalajara initially bid for the 2003 Pan American Games which were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. San Antonio, United States, which bid for the 2007 Games, declined to bid for the 2011 games.

Inspired by the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, Guadalajara used the Games as a clear way to build sports infrastructure, according to Ivar Sisniega, Guadalajara 2011 international relations and sports director. Guadalajara, a metropolitan area of five million people, is a destination for cultural and business travellers.

Horacio de la Vega, marketing director for Guadalajara 2011, cited the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as the inspiration for infrastructure improvements. "Barcelona wasn't Barcelona before it got the Olympic Games. In a more modest sense, we are doing the same in Guadalajara", he said. The budget was estimated at US$200 million, of which $180 million was for sports infrastructure. Some of the funding went to general street improvement and public transportation. Dr. Carlos Andrade was the head of the organizing committee.

However, as the Games drew closer to starting, it was revealed that the costs of building the venues and the athletes' village had more than tripled to US$750 million.

The city planned to build a new convention center and undertake road improvements. Additional plans called for transit improvements, a performing arts theater (Auditorio Telmex) and a new public library. Guadalajara increased the number of available hotel rooms by 5,000 for the games.

By April, Guadalajara 2011 had made over US$50 million revenue from television rights and sponsors, which was more than the previous games in Rio de Janeiro. The organizing committee had aimed for a revenue of about $70 million by the end of the Games. The organizing committee also expected to sell about one million tickets, which went on sale on May 13, 2011.