Guangzhou boasts a long history of religion. The world's top five religions, Buddhism, Taoism, Islamism, Catholicism, and Christianity, all have a presence here, among which Taoism is the only native religion. Buddhism was the first religion introduced into Guangzhou in 255 A.D., Taoism the second in 306 A.D., Islamism in early Tang Dynasty, Catholicism in late Ming Dynasty and Christianity in early Qing Dynasty.

By the end of 2007, there had been 66 religious sites and 1 temporary foreigner religious site registered and opened by the government according to relevant laws. Among them, four are national key historical and cultural heritage protection units (Liu Rong Temple, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Shamian Chapel of Lady of Lourdes and Huaisheng Mosque), three provincial historical and cultural heritage protection units (Liu Rong Temple, Huaisheng Mosque, and Mausoleum of Ancient Islamic Sage) and eight municipal historical and cultural heritage protection units (Hualin Temple, Dafo Temple, Haitong Temple, Sanyuan Taoist Temple, Chunyang Daoist Temple, Renwei Temple, Haopan Mosque, and Dongshan Christian Church).

Further nearly 10 major temples, mosques and churches are distributed along Guangzhou's former axle, outlining the unique human landscape integrating the religious cultures and Guangzhou's historical culture and adding much to the charms of Guangzhou as a famous historic and cultural city.