La delincuencia organizada es la actividad delictiva de un grupo estructurado de tres o más personas que exista durante cierto tiempo y que actúe concertadamente con el propósito de cometer uno o más delitos graves o delitos tipificados con arreglo a la Convención de Palermo con miras a obtener, directa o indirectamente, un beneficio económico , político u otro beneficio de orden material. En la sociedad usualmente se comete el error de usar indistintamente los conceptos de crimen organizado y organizaciones criminales. Ambos hacen referencia a un grupo de personas que, buscando alcanzar sus objetivos (que pueden ser riqueza, poder, etc.ya que esto es propio de los grupos terroristas.), realizan acciones que van en contra de la legislación existente. La diferencia central entre crimen organizado y grupo criminal, es que en el primero existen personas con los vínculos necesarios para evitar ser perseguidos por los delitos que cometen o evitar la pena o castigo de los mismos, y el grupo criminal no tiene estos vínculos. El término de delincuencia organizada se ha utilizado recientemente para señalar a grupos de personas que se dedican a traficar drogas, personas, cometer secuestros, asesinatos, entre otros delitos. Con el propósito de armonizar la definición sobre delincuencia organizada y promover mecanismos de cooperación para su combate a nivel internacional, en 2000 las Naciones Unidas adoptaron en Palermo, Italia, la Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Delincuencia Organizada Transnacional. En dicho instrumento se recogen definiciones universales sobre este fenómeno y se establecen mecanismos para su combate.

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Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals who intend to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for money and profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups, are politically motivated. Sometimes criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts money from shopkeepers for so-called "protection". Gangs may become disciplined enough to be considered organized. A criminal organization or gang can also be referred to as a mafia, mob, or crime syndicate; the network, subculture and community of criminals may be referred to as the underworld. Other organizations—including states, militaries, police forces, and corporations—may sometimes use organized-crime methods to conduct their activities, but their powers derive from their status as formal social institutions. There is a tendency to distinguish organized crime from other forms of crime, such as white-collar crime, financial crimes, political crimes, war crime, state crimes, and treason. This distinction is not always apparent and academics continue to debate the matter. For example, in failed states that can no longer perform basic functions such as education, security, or governance (usually due to fractious violence or to extreme poverty), organised crime, governance and war sometimes complement each other. The term "Parliamentary Mafiocracy" has been used to describe democratic countries whose political, social and economic institutions come under the control of a few families and business oligarchs. In the United States, the Organized Crime Control Act (1970) defines organized crime as "[t]he unlawful activities of [...] a highly organized, disciplined association [...]". Criminal activity as a structured process is referred to as racketeering. In the UK, police estimate that organized crime involves up to 38,000 people operating in 6,000 various groups. Due to the escalating violence of Mexico's drug war, a report issued by the United States Department of Justice characterizes the Mexican drug cartels as the "greatest organized crime threat to the United States".

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