A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with an endless loop of carrying medium—the conveyor belt—that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley is called the idler pulley. There are two main industrial classes of belt conveyors; Those in general material handling such as those moving boxes along inside a factory and bulk material handling such as those used to transport large volumes of resources and agricultural materials, such as grain, salt, coal, ore, sand, overburden and more.

Belt conveyors are the most commonly used powered conveyors because they are the most versatile and the least expensive. Product is conveyed directly on the belt so both regular and irregular shaped objects, large or small, light and heavy, can be transported successfully. These conveyors should use only the highest quality premium belting products, which reduces belt stretch and results in less maintenance for tension adjustments. Belt conveyors can be used to transport product in a straight line or through changes in elevation or direction.