A robot competition is an event where the abilities and characteristics of robots may be tested and assessed. Usually, they have to outperform other robots in order to win the competition. Many competitions are for schools, but several competitions with professional and hobbyist participants also exist.

Robotic competitions have been organized since the 1970s and 1980s. In 1979 a Micromouse competition was organized by the IEEE as shown in the Spectrum magazine.

Although it is hard to pinpoint the first robotic competition, two events are well known for their longevity: the All Japan Robot-Sumo Tournament, of Robot-Sumo in Japan, and the Trinity College International Fire Fighting Robot Contest.

Two contemporary events are Robocup and Robo One. Companies like Lego and VEX have also developed branded events, which they call leagues, although they function more like individual cups in regional qualifiers with finals.

There is some controversy about whether university-specific challenges should be considered competitions or workshops. The general trend is to open competitions to the public, to prevent nepotism and improve the quality of the competing robots.

Some organizations have tried to standardize robotics competition through the introduction of full-fledged leagues with a standard calendar, but the model has worked only in some countries, such as Spain, where the National League was founded in 2008 and still functioning.

There are many types of robot competitions, making it hard to compare them or establish standards for them. For example:

All these competitions are indoors, itinerant in their location and showcase different categories. The competitions in this listing have a yearly recurrent major impact in their locations with a huge national impact or an international significant reach. Map in reference