The early Olympic Games featured(以... ...为特色) some gymnastic disciplines which could scarcely(几乎没有；仅仅才) be deemed(认为，认定) "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.

体操成为专门的体育比赛活动，特别是成为竞技性体操，经历了一段发展与完善的过程。

以奥运会体操比赛记载为例，1896年第1届雅典奥运会，设立了鞍马、吊环、跳马、双杠和单杠项目，还有爬绳。但没有自由体操项目，也只有男子体操比赛。

在以后的奥运会上，体操比赛先后增设了火棒操（后改为轻器械体操）、瑞典式体操、欧洲式体操等体操比赛。1932年洛杉矶第10届奥运会上，增设了自由体操，使竞技体操初具规模。1936年的柏林第11届奥运会上，体操比赛才真正形成目前的男子6项比赛；轻器械体操、瑞典式、欧洲式等体操比赛则从男子体操比赛中取消。这次奥运会还开设了女子体操比赛项目，但女子比赛项目的完善与定型是在1960年的第17届罗马奥运会才完成的。

1984年，第23届洛杉矶奥运会，艺术体操被列为正式比赛项目。2000年，第27届悉尼奥运会，蹦床被列为正式比赛项目。
按照教科书的分类，体操包括竞技体操、艺术体操、蹦床、健美操、技巧5个竞技性项目。多年来，人们仍习惯称“竞技体操”为体操。目前，竞技体操、艺术体操、蹦床同属奥运会体操项目。