Child grooming is befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child under the age of consent, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. Child grooming is also used to lure minor children into various illicit businesses such as child trafficking, child prostitution, cybersex trafficking, or the production of child pornography.

Such behaviour has been proscribed in various ways since the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children, which was agreed upon in 1921 as a multilateral treaty of the (now defunct) League of Nations and addressed the problem of international trafficking of women and children. The proscribed traffic was international at that time. The concept of localised grooming, in which gangs groom neighbourhood victims, was defined in 2010 by the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Child grooming is a form of child abuse. It can occur in various settings, including online, in person, and through other means of communication. Children who are groomed may experience psychological harm and may be coerced into engaging in sexual activity or other forms of exploitation.