Protestant denomination founded in New York City by a group of black congregations formerly belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Its doctrine and polity are basically Methodist, and its chief policymaking body is the quadrennial General Conference. A bishop presides over each of the 12 episcopal areas.

In addition to missionary activity within the U.S., the church maintains missions in Africa, the West Indies, and South America. Publications include Star of Zion, the Quarterly Review, and Missionary Seer.

In 1796, a group of black parishioners of the John Street Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City, discontented over the smallness of their role in the management of church affairs, organized a separate congregation with the approval of the Anglo-American bishop Francis Asbury of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The group continued to meet in the John Street church until 1800, when they erected their own building, which they called Zion. In 1820 the group formally withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1821, together with congregations from Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, held their annual conference at which James Varick (1750?–1828), leader of the original dissenters, was elected the first bishop. It was not until 1848, however, that the name African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was adopted.

This movement spread rapidly throughout the northern states, but its major growth followed the end of the American Civil War; between 1866 and 1868 its membership increased fourfold, the new recruits being largely southern blacks.

According to recent estimates the denomination has 1,125,000 members and 6020 separate congregations. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is the third largest Methodist organization in the U.S.