Battle royal (PL battles royal; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a more general sense to refer to any fight involving large numbers of people who are not organized into factions. Within combat sports and professional wrestling, the term has a specific meaning, depending on the sports being discussed.

Outside sports, the term battle royale has taken on a new meaning in the 21st century, redefined by Koushun Takami's 1999 Japanese dystopian novel Battle Royale and its 2000 film adaptation of the same name. This new meaning of "battle royale" refers to a fictional narrative genre and/or mode of entertainment inspired by the film, also known as death games and killing games, where a select group of people are instructed to kill one another until there is a triumphant survivor.