Deaflympics was originally known as World Games for the Deaf.  The first Deaflympics in 1924 in Paris France, was the first games ever on earth for athletes with disability. There were 145 athletes from 9 European countries taking part, the number of athletes in the Summer Deaflympics have been increasing since the Inaugural Games. 3,660 athletes and team officials from 97 countries participated in the Melbourne 20^th Summer Deaflympics in 2005, and the results in men's 100m and 400m race in track event excelled that of the Chinese Taipei team's national records.

The first Winter Deaflympics was held in Seefeld, Austria in 1949, where 33 athletes from 5 countries participated in, and 253 athletes from 22 countries participated in the 15th Winter Deaflympics in Sundsvall, Sweden in 2003.

Due to its distinctive character in the Games that shows spirit for Deaf Sports, in May 2001, the ICSD was granted permission by the IOC to use DEAFLYMPICS to replace World Games of the Deaf, and the new name was then employed in the 19^th Rome Summer Deaflympics and onwards.

Currently there are 20 sports on the 21^st Summer Deaflympics Program: Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Cycling, Football, Handball, Orienteering, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Water Polo, Wrestling Freestyle, Wrestling Greco-Roman, Karate, Judo and Taekwondo.

In order to comply with the ICSD constitution, any member organization that wishes to bid for the host city of the Summer Deaflympics, will have to send their application form to the ICSD Secretariat 6 years before the next Games, and the host country of the next Games will be elected at the ICSD Congress of the same year. (Note: Chinese Taipei was elected the host city of the 21^st Summer Deaflympics at the 38^th ICSD Congress held in Sundsvall, Sweden on 27 - 28 February 2003.)