Abstract Confucianism is the core of traditional Chinese culture. The Confucian school represented by Confucius has profoundly influenced the political process and cultural trend of ancient Chinese society. Scholars mostly study Confucius’ thoughts on benevolence, rites and music, but rarely study his thoughts on sports. In fact, Confucius’s sports thoughts are also very rich, including promote “shooting, guarding” and the concept of education for all-round development, “respect for rites” and sports ethics, “achieving longevity” and ways to maintain health, and the practical insights of “fitness and leisure”. Confucius’s sports thoughts had a great influence on the sports thoughts of later generations in China. Keywords: Confucius, sports thought, rituals and music, benevolence and righteousness