The 18th Ibero-American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Chan Chan in Trujillo, Peru, between August 24–26, 2018. A total of 44 events were contested, 22 by men and 22 by women.

The 17th Ibero-American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between May 14-16, 2016. Since the event served also as the athletics event test for the 2016 Summer Olympics, countries that do not compete at Ibero-American Championships attended the event, including United States, Saudi Arabia and Australia. However, medals won by those athletes did not count toward the total medal tally.