Hong Kong athletes achieved significant success in 2004, winning a total of 210 gold, 205 silver and 202 bronze medals at their respective national, Asian and international championships.

The HKSAR sent a squad of 32 athletes to compete in the Athens Olympic Games, with the table tennis players winning an historic silver medal in the men's doubles. A Hong Kong athlete also recorded a fourth place in women's windsurfing.

Hong Kong's disabled athletes achieved unprecedented success in the Athens Paralympic Games. They won 11 gold, seven silver and one bronze medals in competition events and one silver medal in demonstration events, ranking first in the wheelchair fencing event and 17th in the gold medal tally for all events among 136 countries.