多元智能理论是由美国哈佛大学教育研究院心理发展学家加德纳于1983年提出。加德纳从研究脑部受创伤的病人发觉到他们在学习能力上的差异，从而提出本理论。尽管加德纳将智能禀赋划分得如此之细，但他强调自己的理论不应被用于限定人们为某一项智力类型，每个人都拥有独特的一套智力组合体系。从这个意义上说，多元智能理论实际上是复合智能理论。

多元智能理论在二十世纪90年代在东南亚快速冒起。起初在台湾兴起，继而香港教育部门积极参考有关理论，并在多家幼稚园和小学的一年级推广多元智能教育。至今华人地区已有教育组织及教育工作者以多元智能理论为核心，为幼稚园、小学、中学和大学等学龄阶段之学生、教师和家长，提供测验评量、课程营队、教育辅导、教师培训等教育解决方案。

The theory of multiple intelligences is a theory of intelligence that differentiates it into specific (primarily sensory) 'modalities', rather than seeing intelligence as dominated by a single general ability. This model was proposed by Howard Gardner in his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner articulated eight criteria for a behavior to be considered an intelligence. These were that the intelligences showed: potential for brain isolation by brain damage, place in evolutionary history, presence of core operations, susceptibility to encoding (symbolic expression), a distinct developmental progression, the existence of savants, prodigies and other exceptional people, and support from experimental psychology and psychometric findings.