Despite the international nature of its position and role, ICMI from time to time had lends its name to a variety of regional conferences on mathematics education, primarily in less affluent parts of the world. Launched in the mid-seventies, the series of ICMI Regional Conferences then had as an explicit aim to facilitate wider discussion of mathematical education issues outside those areas of Europe and America where international meetings on the subject had mainly been held before. A number of Regional Conferences have taken place over the years, the aim being to foster reflecti

A major responsibility of ICMI is to plan for the quadrennial International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME). ICME is the largest international conference on mathematics education. The ICMEs were launched in 1969 in Lyon, France, at the initiative of ICMI President Hans Freudenthal (1905-1990) and have been held since then in leap years. ICMEs are the meeting point for mathematics educators, curriculum developers, mathematicians, researchers in mathematics education, teachers, teacher educators and resource producers.

The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction was established at the Fourth International Congress of Mathematicians held in Rome in 1908. It was initiated to support a widespread interest among mathematicians in school education. The Rome Congress adopted a resolution, submitted on the initiative of the American mathematician, teacher, educator and historian of mathematics, David Eugene Smith (1860-1944), creating an International Commission with the initial mandate of making a comparative study on the methods and plans of teaching mathematics at secondary schools

The World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions (WFNMC) was founded in 1984 during ICME-5, held in Adelaide, Australia.  In 1994 the Federation became the fourth Affiliated Study Group of ICMI.  Both events were inspired by the late Peter O'Halloran (1931-1994), the Founding President of the Federation.

The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME), is a group of researchers, established in 1976 at the International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME3) in Karlsruhe, Germany. 

The International Group for Mathematical Creativity and Giftedness (MCG) was officially established at their sixth international conference on August 4, 2010. However, the group history started in 1999 when Hartwig Meissner organized an International Conference on Creativity and Mathematics Education in Muenster, Germany. About 80 participants from more than 20 countries participated.

The International Organization of Women and Mathematics Education is an international network of individuals and groups who share a commitment to achieving equity in education and who are interested in the links between gender and the teaching and learning of mathematics.

HPM is the International Study Group on the Relations between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics, affiliated to the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI).