The early Olympic Games featured(以... ...為特色) some gymnastic disciplines which could scarcely(幾乎沒有；僅僅才) be deemed(認(rèn)為，認(rèn)定) "artistic", however. Rope climbing, tumbling and club swinging were among the events that failed to survive the refining process. At the World Championships, first held in Antwerp in 1903, field events such as the pole vault, broad jump and shot-put even featured occasionally until 1954. Swimming appeared once, at the 1922 championships.

The Olympic programme began to settle in 1924, with men competing for individual medals and in team events on each apparatus. Four years later, women began competing in Olympic gymnastics at Amsterdam. By 1952, the Soviet Union had become the leading force in Olympic gymnastics, its profile rising slowly after a group of social reformers - including playwright Anton Chekhov - formed the Russian Gymnastic Federation in 1883.

Gymnastics has been present at every Olympic Games.

體操成為專門的體育比賽活動(dòng)，特別是成為競技性體操，經(jīng)歷了一段發(fā)展與完善的過程。

以奧運(yùn)會(huì)體操比賽記載為例，1896年第1屆雅典奧運(yùn)會(huì)，設(shè)立了鞍馬、吊環(huán)、跳馬、雙杠和單杠項(xiàng)目，還有爬繩。但沒有自由體操項(xiàng)目，也只有男子體操比賽。

在以后的奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，體操比賽先后增設(shè)了火棒操（后改為輕器械體操）、瑞典式體操、歐洲式體操等體操比賽。1932年洛杉磯第10屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，增設(shè)了自由體操，使競技體操初具規(guī)模。1936年的柏林第11屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，體操比賽才真正形成目前的男子6項(xiàng)比賽；輕器械體操、瑞典式、歐洲式等體操比賽則從男子體操比賽中取消。這次奧運(yùn)會(huì)還開設(shè)了女子體操比賽項(xiàng)目，但女子比賽項(xiàng)目的完善與定型是在1960年的第17屆羅馬奧運(yùn)會(huì)才完成的。

1984年，第23屆洛杉磯奧運(yùn)會(huì)，藝術(shù)體操被列為正式比賽項(xiàng)目。2000年，第27屆悉尼奧運(yùn)會(huì)，蹦床被列為正式比賽項(xiàng)目。
按照教科書的分類，體操包括競技體操、藝術(shù)體操、蹦床、健美操、技巧5個(gè)競技性項(xiàng)目。多年來，人們?nèi)粤?xí)慣稱“競技體操”為體操。目前，競技體操、藝術(shù)體操、蹦床同屬奧運(yùn)會(huì)體操項(xiàng)目。