The history of Cambodian art (Khmer: សិល្បៈខ្មែរ) stretches back centuries to ancient times, with the most widely recognized period being the art of the Khmer Empire (802–1431), especially in the area around Angkor and the 12th-century temple-complex of Angkor Wat, initially Hindu and subsequently Buddhist. After the collapse of the empire, these and other sites were abandoned and overgrown, allowing much of the era's stone carving and architecture to survive to the present day. Traditional Cambodian arts and crafts include textiles, non-textile weaving, silversmithing, stone carving, lacquerware, ceramics, wat murals, and kite-making.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, a tradition of modern art began in Cambodia, though in the later 20th century both traditional and modern arts declined for several reasons, including the killing of artists by the Khmer Rouge. The country has experienced a recent artistic revival due to increased support from governments, NGOs, and foreign tourists.

In pre-colonial Cambodia, art and crafts were generally produced either by rural non-specialists for practical use or by skilled artists producing works for the Royal Palace. In modern Cambodia, many artistic traditions entered a period of decline or even ceased to be practiced, but the country has experienced a recent artistic revival as the tourist market has increased and governments and NGOs have contributed to the preservation of Cambodian culture.

Cambodia's best-known stone carving adorns the temples of Angkor, which are "renowned for the scale, richness and detail of their sculpture". In modern times, however, the art of stone carving became rare, largely because older sculptures survived undamaged for centuries (eliminating the need for replacements) and because of the use of cement molds for modern temple architecture. By the 1970s and 1980s, the craft of stone carving was nearly lost.

During the late 20th century, however, efforts to restore Angkor resulted in a new demand for skilled stone carvers to replace missing or damaged pieces, and a new tradition of stone carving is arising to meet this need. Most modern carving is traditional-style, but some carvers are experimenting with contemporary designs. Interest is also renewing for using stone carving in modern wats. Modern carvings are typically made from Banteay Meanchey sandstone, though stone from Pursat and Kompong Thom is also used.

Peoples of mainland Southeast Asia began extracting copper from the earth circa 1100-1000 BC and then melting, casting, or hammering raw copper or copper-tin alloys (bronze) in limited amounts for practical use. Some 600 years later, bronze and copper were used for ritualistic and personal objects. Burial sites in Cambodia have uncovered metallic items such as bells and jewelry, and excavations have revealed not only weapons, bowls, and jewelry but tools for metalworking, like crucibles and molds. The skill of metalworking was seen as a divine gift and tied to Khmer rulers who viewed themselves as god kings. The Old Khmer word for bronze is samrit and experts believe there was significant metal production in historic Cambodia. Both Hindu and Buddhist bronzes, some of the oldest of which show Indian influence, appear in the seventh century, before Angkor.

Inscriptions tell us Khmer kings and elites often commissioned bronze sculptures from skilled artists. A royal foundry where bronze sculptures were created, and whose activity peaked in the 11th century, was unearthed at Angkor Thom by archaeologists in 2012, in an area south of where the capital's Royal Palace would have been. Larger bronze sculpture were associated with the kings and their power, and were housed in temples for worshippers, whereas mid-size bronzes were created for rituals and processions. Small figures were held in the homes of believers who may also offer the bronzes to temples. Bronzes of all sizes bore intricate, careful details. The Buddha sheltered by a naga became a popular image during the Angkor era as it is associated with the divine and protection. Lists uncovered from this period revealed the weight, material, and features of items belonging to temples, including those of copper, gold, and silver. Representations of Lokeshvara and Prajnaparamita, as well as the Buddha seated on a naga, were popular with Khmer artists. Shiva in multiple forms was represented by bronze sculptors during the Angkor era as well. Copper and bronze, bearing the same patterns found carved into the stone, were used to adorn temples in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In the post-Angkor, Middle Period between the early 15th and mid-19th centuries, believers would make merit by commissioning metal statues of ancestors and Theravada Buddhist divinities. Changes in rulers often meant the creation or destruction of metal images. The recycling of metal objects, via crucible and recasting, was regularly carried out by the Khmer for the creation of new holy items and images. Production of bronzes and other metal sculpture remained tied to the king and his divinity, and records show bronze and other metals continued to be valued and essential to religion. Metal workshops have been fixtures of Khmer capitals, near the royal palaces, from Angkor to Longvek and Oudong and then Phnom Penh. In 1936, a villager named Chhit-Lat claimed he dreamed that the Buddha told him to rescue a figure that was buried and trapped. He journeyed to the West Mebon and, three feet down, uncovered some of a huge bronze statue consisting of a head, hand, and shoulder. Experts arrived to see the enormous bronze figure of a reclining Vishnu, a pose common in Khmer art, asleep on a large serpent named Ananta. The statue, nicknamed the “Cambodian Mona Lisa”, and also referred to as the Reclining Vishnu of West Mebon and the West Mebon Vishnu, is of bronze, silver, lead, mercury gilding, and cinnabar. Considered a masterpiece, the restored sculpture is usually housed at the National Museum in Phnom Penh.