Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically attached to the boat, and the rower drives the oar like a lever, exerting force in the same direction as the boat's travel; while paddles are completely hand-held and have no attachment to the boat, and are driven like a cantilever, exerting force opposite to the intended direction of the boat.

In some strict terminologies, using oars for propulsion may be termed either "pulling" or "rowing", with different definitions for each. Where these strict terminologies are used, the definitions are reversed depending on the context. On saltwater a "pulling boat" has each person working one oar on one side, alternating port and starboard along the length of the boat; whilst "rowing" means each person operates two oars, one on each side of the boat. On inland waterways, the opposite applies, with "rowing" being where each person in a crew works one oar and "sculling" (especially in sport rowing) involves each participant using a pair of oars. In a maritime setting "sculling" means propelling a boat with a single oar operated over the stern.

This article focuses on the general types of rowing, such as recreation and transport rather than the sport of competitive rowing, which is a specialized case of boat racing using strictly regulated equipment and a highly refined technique.

The beginning of rowing is clouded in history but the use of oars in the way they are used today can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Whether it was invented in Egypt or something learned from Mesopotamia via trade is not known. However, archaeologists have recovered a model of a rowing vessel in a tomb dating back to the 18-19th century BC. The model they found was of a wide boat with shallow bottom, rather like a barge, which was designed to float on the shallow rivers of Mesopotamia. Both the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers were part of this region and flowing from the north to the south they quickly became an integral part of the non-nomadic civilizations.

Rowing vessels, especially galleys, were extensively used in naval warfare and trade in the Mediterranean from classical antiquity onward.^{[citation needed]} Galleys had advantages over sailing ships in light seas with low winds: they were easier to maneuver, capable of short bursts of speed, and able to move independently of the wind.

During the classical age of oared galleys, the Greeks dominated the Mediterranean while the Athenians dominated the other Greeks. They used thousands of lower-class citizens to serve as rowers in the fleet. In Classical Athens, a leading naval power at the time, rowing was regarded as an honorable profession of which men should possess some practical knowledge.

The Classical trireme used 170 rowers; later galleys included even larger crews. Trireme oarsmen used leather cushions to slide over their seats, which allowed them to use their leg strength as a modern oarsman does with a sliding seat. Galleys usually had masts and sails, but would lower them at the approach of combat. Greek fleets would even leave their sails and masts on shore (as being unnecessary weight) if possible.

The use of oars in rowing instead of paddling came rather late to northern Europe, sometime between 500 BC-1 AD. This change might have been hastened by the Roman conquest of Northern Gaul. However, between 500 and 1100 AD, combined sailing and rowing vessels dominated trade and warfare in northern Europe in the time that has come to be known as the Viking Age.