List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE)

This is a chronological list of wrestlers that have been World Heavyweight Champion, sorted by ring name. The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title, currently the highest ranked championship on World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. It was originally created in 2002 by RAW general manager Eric Bischoff when the original WWE Championship became exclusive to SmackDown!. It was later transferred to SmackDown! when WWE Champion John Cena and World Heavyweight Champion Batista switched brands as part of the 2005 Draft Lottery.

Officially, according to WWE's website, WWE's position regarding the history of the belt is that the World Heavyweight Championship is a new title and not the same championship as the WCW or NWA World Heavyweight Championships before it, and that the championship does not inherit the title history of the two belts, despite having a similar belt design. However, it has been made clear that it is the successor to both titles. For a list of wrestlers who have held those belts, see List of WCW World Heavyweight Champions and List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions respectively.

There have been a total of 12 recognized champions who have had a combined 17 official reigns.