In the communist or Marxist-Leninist movement, an anti-revisionist is one who favors a strict Stalinist or Maoist interpretation of Marxist-Leninist ideology. The term is generally seen as positive and used in self-description by the "anti-revisionists" themselves. The opposite term, revisionism, is most often used pejoratively. In its original sense, "anti-revisionism" was used at the beginning of the twentieth century during the split between Leninist groups and democratic socialists. The Leninists called themselves anti-revisionists because they opposed the democratic socialists, who believed that Marx's ideas should be revised to allow for the possibility of social progress without revolution.

The term itself is usually controversial among Marxist-Leninist as groups labelled as revisionist tend to deny the label and argue that they are indeed following the ideas of Marx. Often they will then accuse self-proclaimed anti-revisionist groups as left deviationist.

Self-proclaimed anti-revisionists opposed the reforms initiated in some communist countries by leaders like Nikita Khrushchev (in the Soviet Union) and Josip Broz Tito (in Yugoslavia).

During the Sino-Soviet split, the governments of the People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong and Albania under Enver Hoxha proclaimed themselves as taking an anti-revisionist line and denounced Khrushchev. In the United States, those who supported China or Albania during the Sino-Soviet split were expelled from the United States Communist Party under orders from Moscow, and in 1962 they formed the Progressive Labor Party. Several other small Stalinist or Maoist political parties in the United States, such as the Revolutionary Communist Party, also see themselves as anti-revisionist.

Anti-revisionist groups were further divided by the Sino-Albanian split, with those following Albania being loosely described as Hoxhaist.

The Workers Party of Korea claims an anti-revisionist line today.

Famous Anti-Revisionists include: Enver Hoxha Mao Tse-Tung Hardial Bains Bill Bland Bob Avakian Kirkpatrick Sale Frida Kahlo Diego Rivera Pablo Neruda Prachada Kim Jong Il Fidel Castro Jiang Qing Gang of Four

List of Anti-Revisionist Parties/Groups: http://www.broadleft.org/antirevi.htmList of Anti-Revisionists