Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the Republic of China (Taiwan). The list of capital offences for which the death penalty can be imposed includes murder, treason, drug trafficking, piracy, terrorism, and especially serious cases of robbery, rape, and kidnapping, as well as military offences such as desertion during wartime. In practice, however, all executions in Taiwan since the early 2000s have been for murder.

Before 2000, Taiwan had a relatively high execution rate, when strict laws surrounding capital punishment were still in effect. However, controversial legal cases during the 1990s and changing attitudes among officials towards the abolition of the death penalty led to a significant drop in the number of executions, with only three in 2005 and none between 2006 and 2009. Executions resumed in 2010, and according to polls, more than 80% of Taiwanese people support the continued use of capital punishment.

A 2024 poll found that 84% of Taiwanese oppose the abolition of the death penalty.

The Criminal Law of the Armed Forces rules that the following crimes are eligible for the death penalty when committed by military personnel:

The Criminal Code of the Republic of China rules that the following civilian offenses are eligible for the death penalty:

Article 63 of the Criminal Code also rules that the death penalty cannot be imposed for offenders aged below 18 or above 80. The death penalty is not prescribed as a mandatory punishment in any case and is only imposed with the discretion of the sentencing court.

Other special laws which define capital offenses include:

In practice, all death sentences and executions since 2003 have been imposed for murder-related offences. The last non-homicide-related execution in Taiwan took place in October 2002, in the case of a Pingtung County fisherman who was accused of trafficking 295 kg of heroin in 1993.