The ISSF World Shooting Championships are governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation. World Shooting Championships began in 1897, after the successful 1896 Summer Olympics, and although the ISSF was not founded until 1907, these early competitions are still seen by the organization as the beginning of a continuous row of championships. By this logic, the 2006 competition in Zagreb was called the 49th ISSF World Shooting Championships. These championships, including all ISSF shooting events, are held every four years since 1954. For the shotgun events only, there is an additional World Championship competition in odd-numbered years. These extra competitions are not numbered. In running target, there will be World Championships in Olympic years.

The World Championships were held each year from 1897 to 1931, with the exception of the years 1915–1920 (interruption by World War I) and 1926. From 1933 to 1949, they were held biennially, although the 1941–1945 competitions were canceled (again, because of world war). The current schedule, with large World Championships only every four years, was adapted in 1954.

Originally, 300 metre rifle (in various positions) was the only discipline on the programme, despite many other events having been included in the Olympics. In 1900, 50 metre pistol was added. This programme was in use until 1929, the only change being the addition of 300 metre army rifle, with mandatory use of the host nation's army weapon, in 1911. The 1929 championships in Stockholm saw the addition of most of the remaining events from the Olympic programme: 100 metre running deer, 50 metre rifle and trap. 25 metre rapid fire pistol had to wait until 1933.

Immediately after World War II, 300 metre standard rifle (with more strict rules than 300 metre rifle but less than 300 metre army rifle) was added along with 25 metre center-fire pistol and skeet. There was also briefly a combined 50 and 100 m rifle competition. Specific women's events began to be slowly added from 1958, although women had previously, and at times successfully, been allowed to compete alongside the men. The last remaining army rifle event and 100 metre running deer were dropped in 1966, the latter in favour of 50 metre running target. 50 metre standard rifle was also added for both men and women, but was soon dropped for the men due to the similarity to 50 metre rifle. The 1970 World Championships in Phoenix added airgun events, 25 metre standard pistol and the mixed running target competition. 10 metre running target was added in 1981.

For the 1994 competitions in Milan, a number of profound changes were made. First, junior competitions were added (like the senior championships, these are only held every four years); they had previously been tested in the special shotgun and airgun championships. Second, there were no longer medals awarded in single positions in the 300 metre and 50 metre rifle matches (except for the prone position, which has its own match). Third, double trap had been introduced five years earlier in Montecatini Terme and now made its way into the large championships. With only minor additions, the 1994 programme is still in use.

Before World War I (1897 to 1914) and Interwar period (1921 to 1939)

More information Number, Year ...

Number	Year	Venue	Individual events					Team events					Total	Medal count winner
			Rifle	Pistol	SG	RT	Total	Rifle	Pistol	SG	RT	Total
1	1897	Lyon	4				4	1				1	5	Switzerland
2	1898	Turin	4				4	1				1	5	France
3	1899	Loosduinen	4				4	1				1	5	Switzerland
4	1900	Paris	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
5	1901	Lucerne	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
6	1902	Rome	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
7	1903	Buenos Aires	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
8	1904	Lyon (2)	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
9	1905	Brussels	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Belgium
10	1906	Milan	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	France
11	1907	Zürich	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
12	1908	Vienna	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Italy
13	1909	Hamburg	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
14	1910	Loosduinen (2)	4	1			5	1	1			2	7	Switzerland
15	1911	Rome (2)	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	Switzerland
16	1912	Bayonne-Biarritz	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	Switzerland
17	1913	Camp Perry	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	Switzerland
18	1914	Viborg	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	France
19	1921	Lyon (3)	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	United States
20	1922	Milan (2)	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	Switzerland
21	1923	Camp Perry (2)	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	United States
22	1924	Reims	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	United States
23	1925	St. Gallen	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	Switzerland
24	1927	Rome (3)	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	Switzerland
25	1928	Loosduinen (3)	8	1			9	1	1			2	11	Switzerland
26	1929	Stockholm	9	1	1	2	13	3	1	1	2	7	20	Switzerland
27	1930	Antwerp	11	1			13	4	1			5	18	United States
		Rome (4)			1
28	1931	Lwów	12	1	1	2	16	4	1	1	2	8	24	Switzerland
29	1933	Granada	11	2			14	4	1			6	20	Sweden
		Vienna (2)			1					1
30	1935	Rome (5)	11	2			14	5	1			7	21	Finland
		Brussels (2)			1					1
31	1937	Helsinki	12	2	1	2	17	11	2	1		14	31	Finland
32	1939	Lucerne (2)	13	2			16	5	2			8	24	Estonia
		Berlin			1					1

Close

After World War II

More information Number, Year ...

Number	Year	Venue	Men's events					Women's events					Junior events					Team events					Total	Medal count winner
			Ri	Pi	SG	RT	Σ	Ri	Pi	SG	RT	Σ	Ri	Pi	SG	RT	Σ	Ri	Pi	SG	RT	Σ
33	1947	Stockholm (2)	10	3	2	2	17											7	3	1		11	28	Sweden
34	1949	Buenos Aires (2)	11	3	1	3	18											5	3	1	1	10	28	Finland
35	1952	Oslo	10	3	2	2	17											7	3	1	2	13	30	United States
36	1954	Caracas	10	3	2	2	17											7	3	1	2	13	30	Soviet Union
37	1958	Moscow	11	3	2	2	18	2				2	1				1	10	3	2	2	17	38	Soviet Union
38	1962	Cairo	10	3	2	2	17	2	2	2		6						6	3	2	2	13	36	Soviet Union
39	1966	Wiesbaden	10	3	2	1	16	2	1	2		5						8	3	2	1	14	35	United States
40	1970	Phoenix	12	5	2	2	21	3	3	2		8						14	8	2	2	26	55	Soviet Union
41	1974	Bern-Thun	11	5	2	2	20	3	2	2		7						14	6	2	2	24	51	Soviet Union
42	1978	Seoul	10	5	2	2	19	3	2	2		7						13	7	4	2	26	52	United States
43	1982	Caracas (2)	10	5	2	3	20	3	2	2		7						13	7	4	3	27	54	Soviet Union
44	1986	Suhl	5	5	2	3	21	3	2	2		7						8	7	4	3	28	56	Soviet Union
		Skövde	6															6
45	1990	Moscow (2)	10	5	3	3	21	3	2	3		8						13	7	6	3	29	58	Soviet Union
46	1994	Milan-Tolmezzo-Fagnano (2)	6	5	3	4	18	3	2	3	1	9	6	7	3	5	21	15	14	6	8	43	91	United States
47	1998	Barcelona-Zaragoza	6	5	3	2	16	3	2	3	1	9	6	7	3	3	19	15	14	6	6	41	85	China
48	2002	Lahti	6	5	3	4	18	5	2	3	2	12	6	7	6	6	25	17	14	10	12	53	108	Russia
49	2006	Zagreb	6	5	3	4	18	5	2	3	2	12	6	7	5	6	24	17	14	8	12	51	105	China
50	2010	Munich	6	5	3	4	18	5	2	3	2	12	6	7	5	6	24	17	14	10	12	53	107	China
51	2014	Granada	6	5	3	4	18	5	2	2	2	11	6	7	5	6	24	17	14	10	8	49	102	China
52	2018	Changwon	6	5	3	4	18	5	2	2	2	11	6	7	4	4	21	19	16	6	11	52	102	China
53	2023	Baku[1]

Close

Special shotgun championships were first held in 1934, and since 1959 they are held biennially so that in these events, there are either Olympic Games or World Championships each year. The original event was trap; skeet was added in 1950 and double trap in 1989.

It was in this kind of championship that the first woman won a World Championship medal in shooting: Carola Mandel (USA) in 1950. Women got their own competitions in 1967.

Running target events have been sporadically included; the last time was 1983. As a compensation for the 2005 loss of Olympic status for 10 metre running target however, it has been decided to hold provisional World Championships in 10 metre running target and 50 metre running target in Olympic years, starting in 2008.

5 Edition (1961, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1983) of shotgun and running target was held simultaneously.

Shotgun

More information Number, Year ...

Number	Year	Venue	Men's events			Women's events			Junior events			Team events			Total	Medal count winner
			SG	RT	Σ	SG	RT	Σ	SG	RT	Σ	SG	RT	Σ
1	1934	Budapest	1		1							1		1	2	Hungary
2	1936	Berlin	1		1							1		1	2	Hungary
3	1938	Luhačovice	1		1							1		1	2	Hungary
4	1950	Madrid	2		2										2	Italy
5	1959	Cairo	2		2							1		1	3	Italy and  Soviet Union
6	1961*	Oslo	2	2	4								2	2	6	United States
7	1965	Santiago de Chile	2		2										2	Chile
8	1967*	Bologna	2	1	3	2		2				2	1	3	8	Soviet Union
9	1969	San Sebastián	2		2	2		2				2		2	6	Italy
10	1971	Bologna (2)	2		2	2		2				2		2	6	Soviet Union
11	1973*	Melbourne	2	2	4							2	2	4	8	Soviet Union
12	1975*	Munich	2	1	3	2		2				4	1	5	10	Soviet Union
13	1977	Antibes	2		2	2		2				4		4	8	Italy
14	1979	Montecatini Terme	2		2	2		2				4		4	8	Soviet Union
15	1981	Tucumán	2		2	2		2				4		4	8	Soviet Union
16	1983*	Edmonton	2	3	5	2		2				4	3	7	14	Soviet Union
17	1985	Montecatini Terme (2)	2		2	2		2				4		4	8	China
18	1987	Valencia	2		2	2		2				2		2	6	China
19	1989	Montecatini Terme (3)	3		3	3		3	3		3	7		7	16	Italy
20	1991	Perth	3		3	3		3	3		3	9		9	18	United States
21	1993	Barcelona	3		3	2		2	3		3	8		8	16	Italy
22	1995	Nicosia	3		3	3		3	3		3	9		9	18	Italy
23	1997	Lima	3		3	3		3	3		3	8		8	17	Italy
24	1999	Tampere	3		3	3		3	5		5	9		9	20	Italy
25	2001	Cairo (2)	3		3	3		3	6		6	9		9	21	United States
26	2003	Nicosia (2)	3		3	3		3	6		6	11		11	23	United States
27	2005	Lonato	3		3	3		3	5		5	8		8	19	Italy
28	2007	Nicosia (3)	3		3	2		2	5		5	9		9	19	Italy
29	2009	Maribor	3		3	2		2	5		5	10		10	20	Italy
30	2011	Belgrade	3		3	2		2	5		5	10		10	20	Russia
31	2013	Lima (2)	3		3	2		2	5		5	10		10	20	Italy
32	2015	Lonato (2)	3		3	2		2	5		5	10		10	20	Italy
33	2017	Moscow	3		3	2		2	5		5	10		10	20	Italy
34	2019	Lonato (3)	3		3	2		2	4		4	12		12	21	Italy
35	2022	Osijek	2		2	2		2	10		10	6		6	20	Italy

Close

• shotgun and running target simultaneously

Running target

More information Number, Year ...

Number	Year	Venue	Men's events			Women's events			Junior events			Team events			Total	Medal count winner
			SG	RT	Σ	SG	RT	Σ	SG	RT	Σ	SG	RT	Σ
1	1961*	Oslo	2	2	4								2	2	6	United States
2	1967*	Bologna	2	1	3	2		2				2	1	3	8	Soviet Union
3	1969	Sandviken		1	1								1	1	2	Soviet Union
4	1973*	Melbourne	2	2	4							2	2	4	8	Soviet Union
5	1975*	Munich	2	1	3	2		2				4	1	5	10	Soviet Union
6	1979	Linz		2	2								2	2	4	Soviet Union
7	1981	Mala (Tucumán and Buenos Aires)		2	2								2	2	4	Soviet Union
8	1983*	Edmonton	2	3	5	2		2				4	3	7	14	Soviet Union
9	2008	Plzeň		4	4		2	2		6	6		10	10	22	Russia
10	2009	Heinola													20	Russia
11	2012	Stockholm													24	Finland
12	2016	Suhl													24	Ukraine
13	2021	Châteauroux

Close

• shotgun and running target simultaneously

From 1979 to 1991, there were seven special airgun championships, including 10 metre air rifle, 10 metre air pistol and sometimes also 10 metre running target. This kind of championship has been discontinued.

More information Number, Year ...

Number	Year	Venue	Men's events				Women's events				Junior events				Team events				Total	Medal count winner
			Ri	Pi	RT	Σ	Ri	Pi	RT	Σ	Ri	Pi	RT	Σ	Ri	Pi	RT	Σ
1	1979	Seoul	1	1		2	1	1		2					2	2		4	8	United States
2	1981	Santo Domingo	1	1	1	3	1	1		2					2	2	1	5	10	Soviet Union
3	1983	Innsbruck	1	1		2	1	1		2					2	2		4	8	Sweden
4	1985	Mexico City	1	1		2	1	1		2					2	2		4	8	Soviet Union
5	1987	Budapest	1	1	1	3	1	1		2					2	2	1	5	10	Soviet Union
6	1989	Sarajevo	1	1	1	3	1	1		2	2	2	1	5	4	4	2	10	20	Soviet Union
7	1991	Stavanger	1	1	1	3	1	1		2	2	2	1	5	4	4	2	10	20	Soviet Union

Close

In 2022, ISSF organized the first Rifle/Pistol World Championships, separate from the Shotgun and Running target events.

More information Number, Year ...

Number	Year	Venue	Men's events			Women's events			Mixed events			Junior events			Total	Medal count winner
			Ri	Pi	Σ	Ri	Pi	Σ	Ri	Pi	Σ	Ri	Pi	Σ
1	2022	Cairo	9	7	16	9	6	15	5	4	9	15	15	30	70	China

Close

• 2017 World Target Sprint Championships

• 300 meter rifle three positions
• 300 meter rifle prone
• 300 meter standard rifle
• 50 meter rifle three positions
• 50 meter rifle prone
• 10 meter air rifle
• 50 meter pistol
• 25 meter pistol
• 25 meter standard pistol
• 25 meter rapid fire pistol
• 25 meter center-fire pistol
• 10 meter air pistol
• 50 meter running target
• 50 meter running target mixed
• 10 meter running target
• 10 meter running target mixed
• Trap
• Double trap
• Skeet

Total medals by country (senior current events only)

This table was calculated for the senior current events only. Last updated after 2009 World Running Target Championships.

More information Rank, Nation ...

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union	207	128	87	422
2	United States	130	142	119	391
3	Italy	89	71	76	236
4	Switzerland	85	67	53	205
5	China	74	68	52	194
6	Russia	49	40	41	130
7	Sweden	40	52	62	154
8	Finland	37	45	51	133
9	France	33	55	61	149
10	Hungary	31	35	45	111
11	Germany	28	28	36	92
12	West Germany	27	27	32	86
13	Norway	17	19	28	64
14	Belgium	17	12	17	46
15	Czech Republic	15	23	9	47
16	Poland	15	18	14	47
17	Czechoslovakia	14	16	17	47
18	East Germany	13	19	24	56
19	Ukraine	13	17	22	52
20	India	13	12	15	40
21	Bulgaria	13	11	11	35
22	Australia	12	20	10	42
23	Canada	9	10	4	23
24	South Korea	9	9	20	38
25	Denmark	9	6	19	34
26	Argentina	9	4	6	19
27	Great Britain	8	14	21	43
28	Spain	8	14	17	39
29	Yugoslavia	7	12	4	23
30	Kuwait	6	1	4	11
31	Estonia	5	2	3	10
32	Belarus	4	7	8	19
33	Kazakhstan	4	1	4	9
34	Romania	3	11	10	24
35	Austria	3	7	14	24
36	Mexico	3	2	3	8
37	Cyprus	3	2	0	5
38	Slovakia	2	7	12	21
39	Azerbaijan	2	3	0	5
40	Venezuela	2	2	2	6
41	Colombia	2	1	4	7
42	Chile	2	1	0	3
43	Portugal	1	6	3	10
44	Egypt	1	2	5	8
45	Chinese Taipei	1	1	2	4
	Slovenia	1	1	2	4
47	Ireland	1	1	1	3
48	Israel	1	1	0	2
	South Africa	1	1	0	2
	United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	2
51	Mongolia	1	0	2	3
52	Armenia	1	0	0	1
	Latvia	1	0	0	1
54	Japan	0	5	3	8
55	Netherlands	0	4	6	10
56	Lithuania	0	4	1	5
57	Cuba	0	3	5	8
58	Greece	0	2	1	3
	Thailand	0	2	1	3
60	Brazil	0	1	2	3
	North Korea	0	1	2	3
62	Georgia	0	1	1	2
	Turkey	0	1	1	2
64	Lebanon	0	1	0	1
	Serbia and Montenegro	0	1	0	1
66	San Marino	0	0	3	3
67	Albania	0	0	1	1
	Croatia	0	0	1	1
	Peru	0	0	1	1
	Puerto Rico	0	0	1	1
	Uruguay	0	0	1	1
Totals (71 entries)		1083	1081	1083	3247

Close

• Shooting at the Summer Olympics
• ISSF World Cup
• ISSF Junior World Cup
• European Shooting Championships
• Asian Shooting Championships