| Competition: | Campeonato Carioca |
| Season: | 2003 |
| Winners: | Vasco da Gama |
| Relegated: | Volta Redonda |
| Continentalcup1: | Copa do Brasil |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Vasco da Gama Flamengo Fluminense Americano Botafogo Bangu |
| League Topscorer: | Fábio Bala (Fluminense) - 10 goals |
| Biggest Home Win: | Fluminense 5-0 Botafogo (February 23, 2003) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Americano 1-4 Flamengo (January 26, 2003) Flamengo 0-3 Fluminense (February 9, 2003) |
| Highest Scoring: | Botafogo 5–2 Volta Redonda (February 19, 2003) |
| Matches: | 72 |
| Total Goals: | 193 |
| Prevseason: | 2002 |
| Nextseason: | 2004 |
The 2003 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on January 16 and ended on March 23, 2003. It is the official tournament organized by FFERJ (Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, or Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. Only clubs based in the Rio de Janeiro State are allowed to play. Twelve teams contested this edition. Vasco da Gama won the title for the 22nd time. Volta Redonda was relegated.[1] [2]
The tournament was divided in two stages: