Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about 10 kilometers (6 mi) inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth-largest city in Tamaulipas, with a population of 314,418 in the city proper and 929,174 in the metropolitan area.

During the period of Mexico's first oil boom in the early 20th century, the city was the "chief oil-exporting port of the Americas" and the second-busiest in the world, yielding great profits that were invested in the city's famous architecture, often compared to that of Venice and New Orleans. The first oil well in Mexico was drilled near Tampico in 1901 at Ébano.

The city is also a major exporter of silver, copper, and lumber, as well as wool, hemp, and other agricultural products. Containerized cargo is mainly handled by the neighboring ocean port of Altamira.

The name "Tampico" is of Huastec origin, tam-piko meaning "place of water dogs" (referring to otters which are endemic of the region). The city is surrounded by rivers and lagoons of the delta of the Pánuco River, which was the habitat of a large population of otters. There have been successive human settlements in the area for centuries. The region had several early Huastec settlements, among them the important site at Las Flores, which flourished between AD 1000 and 1250.

In 1532, during the Spanish colonial period, the Franciscan priest Andrés de Olmos established a mission and monastery in the area, building over a former Huastec village. At his request, Spanish officials founded a settlement named San Luis de Tampico in 1554. This site was abandoned in 1684, and the population relocated to the south of the Pánuco River because of frequent attacks by pirates. The area was abandoned for nearly 150 years.

The present city was founded on April 13, 1823, on the north bank of the Pánuco River about 10 kilometers (6 mi) from the Gulf, after Mexico achieved independence from Spain. Tampico built its economy on the exportation of silver; business development was mostly as a trading center and market town of an agricultural region. In August 1829, Spain sent troops from Cuba to invade Tampico in an effort to regain control of the region, but in September, General Antonio López de Santa Anna forced the Spanish troops to surrender, and Mexican control of Tampico was reestablished.

The first oil well in Mexico was drilled near Tampico at Ébano, S.L.P., in 1901, by Californian Edward Doheny, who founded the Mexican Petroleum Company. In the early 20th century, there was extensive U.S. investment in oil development in Tampico, with a sizable United States expatriate community developing in relation to the industry. With the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, which lasted roughly from 1910 to 1920, the U.S. monitored the situation to protect its citizens and investments. Doheny sold some of his businesses to the Standard Oil Company which operated its monopoly here. The oil-producing area was so productive it was called the "Golden Belt".

The oil fields known as Ébano, Pánuco, Huasteca, and Tuxpan are all situated within a 160-kilometer (99 mi) radius of the city. Oil was often shipped on barges along the rivers. To improve transportation of oil to the port, the government built the Chijol Canal, beginning in 1901. It is 1.8 m (6 ft) deep and 7.6 m (25 ft) wide and runs 120 km (75 mi) southward through the oil fields to Tuxpan.