Mizo chieftainship refers to the system of chieftainship used by the Mizo people, which historically operated as a gerontocracy. The chieftain system persisted among the various clans and tribes from the precolonial era through to the British colonial period and Indian independence briefly. The Mizo Union advocated for abolishing chieftainship in Mizoram. The chieftainships of Mizoram were eventually disbanded with the Assam-Lushai District ("Acquisition of Chief's Rights") Act in 1954.

In the administration, the chief would cooperate with various individuals to achieve his duties. Among the most important of these individuals were the chief's elders, also known as Lal upate or upa. The chief could choose who to appoint to this position and how many individuals could fit this capacity. The elders did not possess the ability to question decisions or criticise the chief and typically held meetings at the Chief's house while drinking zû (transl. rice beer). An upa who became favoured by the chief for their conduct would be granted permission to set up a hamlet near the village known as a khawper. Upa who are given headmen positions act as lesser chiefs known as Belrawh mualkil and if they're granted privileges like sachhiah (transl. meat tax), they are known as sangal khawnghrang. The most important upa is known as upamin and is perceived as the chief's deputy. The upas would also help the chief to adjudicate cases in which they would receive a portion of the salam (transl. fine of the losing party).

The brothers of the chief would also enjoy prestige by association if they did not rule any village. They were exempted from paying the rice paddy tax known as fathang. They would be given the first choice on choosing plots for jhumming and cultivation.

Influential cultivators known as ramhuals would also get the right to choose cultivation plots before other people, although they would have to give double fathang. These individuals were appointed by the chief on account of their agricultural output in order to collect larger paddy tributes. Ramhuals would select a hill suitable for jhumming (slash-and-burn cultivation) in the year. This process allows the chief to make the first choice over his jhum plot. Ramhuals were second in the privilege to choose their jhum plots, often reserving the best and paying a larger paddy tax. Zalen were families exempted from paying the paddy-tribute due to their specific obligation to help the chief if the food supply declined.

The village blacksmith was known as thirdeng. This craft and skillset would be passed down hereditarily. One of the village blacksmiths would be chosen by the chief to as a personal blacksmith. The chief's blacksmith would take part in the administration with the chief and elders. Their responsibilities would include repairing tools for agriculture and other daily work. Due to this, they could also claim Thirdengsa, which is a small share of any wild animal killed by the village hunting party. The thirdeng would get remuneration by being given a basket of paddy from each household in the village. The thirdeng would also have a separate workshop known as a pum. A unique social function of the pum outside of blacksmithing was the storing of heads of enemies brought from war.

The puithiam was the priest of the village and had authority over rituals and spiritual matters. A sadawt was a private priest for the chief and was granted the ability to be shared by multiple chiefs of the same clan. The sadawts were in charge of festivals and ceremonies with knowledge of the practice of witchcraft. The sadawt typically has an assistant known as a Tlahpawi. A Tlahpawi was typically a friend of the chief. Their most common task would be scraping the skin of pigs with bamboo to file off the hair. A bawlpu was assigned to cure sicknesses and procure medicine. The bawlpu would typically prescribe animal sacrifice, which would be brought with debt or offered if already owned. The incantations used by bawlpu were closely guarded and were only imparted to the next prospective bawlpu either due to their inability to carry out their tasks or being close to death.

The val upa played an important role in traditional Mizo society. They were not appointed by the chief but elected by people based on reputation and merit towards community contribution. Their powers included managing all matters with children and young men. They operated as spokesmen to the chief on matters pertaining to bachelors in the [[zawlbuk|zawlbûk]]. They also regulated and assented to decisions made by young men and opinionated common policy.

The Tlangau was a village crier. Their responsibility was to proclaim the chief's orders and assign what tasks or work were to be done the next day. The crier was repaid with a basket of rice from each family. The crier would often essentially function as a servant of the chief with little status in the chiefdom. While assault was punished in Mizo chiefdoms, hitting the crier for bearing bad news or tedious work was an exception with no fines.