Shaolin kung fu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery. Shaolin Kung Fu was included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China in 2006.

Situated in Mount Song in Henan Province, the Shaolin Monastery is a place of spiritual development with a history of over 1500 years. It is held that Shaolin kung fu was first developed by the Indian monk Bodhidharma. In the Tang and Song dynasties and afterwards, a lot of non-monks entered the Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu and conduct kung fu exchange. By the beginning of the Qing dynasty there were ten branch temples of Shaolin in China. And these branch temples became the centers of the Shaolin kung fu. There are now many Shaolin kung fu schools, such as the Emei Shaolin, the Guandong Shaolin, the Fujian Shaolin, the Shandong Shaolin, etc. The famous saying about Shaolin kung fu is that "All the kung fu in the world originate from the Shaolin Temple".

Shaolin kung fu is famous for its wide range and profound attainment. Of all the martial arts of the Shaolin Temple, boxing is the oldest art. The Shaolin boxing lays emphasis on skill. Its practicing is not limited by space.