This style of wrestling is practiced in Olympic and international amateur competition. In Greco-Roman wrestling the legs may not be used in any way to obtain a fall, and no holds may be taken below the waist. A wrestler may not attack his opponent's legs, nor use his own legs to trip, lift or execute other moves. The wrestler must wrestle from standing without the top of his head against his opponent’s chest. This is called passivity, and will result in a call of "CONTACT" by the official. The official will say "contact red" or "contact green" before actually indicating passivity by holding an open palm hand in the air with the offenders color indicated. There is also a slight relaxation in not requiring a high arch by the attacker when a gut wrench is initiated on the mat, plus some modifications on hand attack when escaping.

Note that in either Freestyle or Greco-Roman, a wrestler who continually avoids contact may be called for fleeing the hold. This results in a caution and 1 point award to the aggressor. Other rules and procedures are the same as those for freestyle wrestling, the other international amateur style.

In the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, wrestling was an integral part of the Pentathlon, a form of all around athletic championship featuring running, jumping, wrestling, and throwing the discus and javelin. In imitation of classical Greek and Roman representations of the sport, modern Greco-Roman wrestling was created in France in the early 19th century. It became favored in Scandinavian countries, from 1912 to 1948, after which the Soviet Union and other countries came to the fore.