An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ice skating during the 1800s marked a rise in the deliberate construction of ice rinks in numerous areas of the world.

The word "rink" is a word of Scottish origin meaning "course", used to describe the ice surface used in the sport of curling, but was kept in use once the winter team sport of ice hockey became established.

There are two types of ice rinks in prevalent use today: natural ice rinks, where freezing occurs from cold ambient temperatures, and artificial ice rinks (or mechanically frozen), where a coolant produces cold temperatures underneath the water body (on which the game is played), causing the water body to freeze and then stay frozen. There are also synthetic ice rinks where skating surfaces are made out of plastics.

Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include: ice hockey, sledge hockey (a.k.a. "Para ice hockey", or "sled hockey"), spongee (a.k.a. sponge hockey), bandy, rink bandy, rinkball, ringette, broomball (both indoor and outdoor versions), Moscow broomball, speed skating, figure skating, ice stock sport, curling, and crokicurl. However, Moscow broomball is typically played on a tarmac tennis court that has been flooded with water and allowed to freeze. The sports of broomball, curling, ice stock sport, spongee, Moscow broomball, and the game of crokicurl, do not use ice skates of any kind.

While technically not an ice rink, ice tracks and trails, such as those used in the sport of speed skating and recreational or pleasure skating are sometimes referred to as "ice rinks".

Rink, a Scottish word meaning 'course', was used as the name of a place where curling was played. As curling is played on ice, the name has been retained for the construction of ice areas for other sports and uses.

Early attempts in the construction of artificial ice rinks were first made in the 'rink mania' of 1841–44. The technology for the maintenance of natural ice did not exist, therefore these early rinks used a substitute consisting of a mixture of hog's lard and various salts. An item in the May 8, 1844 issue of Eliakim Littell's Living Age headed "The Glaciarium" reported that, "This establishment, which has been removed to Grafton street East' Tottenham Court Road, was opened on Monday afternoon. The area of artificial ice is extremely convenient for such as may be desirous of engaging in the graceful and manly pastime of skating".

By 1844, these venues fell out of fashion as customers grew tired of the 'smelly' ice substitute. It wasn't until thirty years later that refrigeration technology developed to the point where natural ice could finally be feasibly used in the rink. The world's first mechanically frozen ice rink was the Glaciarium, opened by John Gamgee, a British veterinarian and inventor, in a tent in a small building just off the Kings Road in Chelsea, London, on 7 January 1876. Gamgee had become fascinated by the refrigeration technology he encountered during a study trip to America to look at Texas fever in cattle. In March of that same year it moved to a permanent venue at 379 Kings Road, where a rink measuring 12.2 by 7.3 metres (40 by 24 ft) was established.