The 2006 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on January 14 and ended on April 9, 2006. It is the official tournament organized by FFERJ (Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, or Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. Only clubs based in the Rio de Janeiro State are allowed to play. Twelve teams contested this edition. Botafogo won the title for the 18th time. Portuguesa was relegated.^[1][2]

The tournament was divided in two stages:

• Taça Guanabara: The 12 clubs were divided into two groups. teams from each group played in single round-robin format against the others in their group. Top two teams in each group advanced to semifinal and then, to the final, played in a single match.
• Taça Rio: The teams from one group play against teams from the other group once. Top two teams in each group qualify to semifinal and final, to be played in a single match.
• Finals: Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio winners play twice at Maracanã Stadium. If the same club wins both stages, they will be declared champions and the final won't be necessary.

The finalists automatically qualified to the Copa do Brasil of the following year, plus the team with the best season record outside of them.