The IIHF European Junior Championships were an annual ice Hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation and held from 1968 to 1998.

The tournament was played as a U19 tournament from 1968-1976. In 1977, the IIHF created the IIHF World U20 Championships, and the U19 championships became U18. The tournament was dominated by the Soviets, Czechs, Swedes and Finns, winning all but two of the medals in the 31 years it was held.

The U18 Championships remained strong until 1999, when the new IIHF World U18 Championships were introduced, thus rendering the U18 European Championships redundant.