Makushita is the third highest division in the professional sumo ranking system of six divisions for wrestlers. It ranks below Juryo. It should really be Shidan, lit. fourth rank, but as Shi has the same sound as death in Japanese an alternative name is used. Its origin is based in the fact that at one time, prior to the creation of the Juryo division, this division was only one below the topmost Makuuchi division (meaning inside the curtain). Hence Makushita, literally meaning "below (shita) the curtain (maku)".

In the current system, there are 120 wrestlers in the division (60 ranked on the East and and 60 on the West side of the Banzuke). Unlike the sekitori ranks above them, wrestlers compete only seven times during a tournament.

It is often considered that holding the rank of makushita is the first step toward becoming a professional (sekitori ranked) sumo wrestler. Furthermore it can be regarded as the most heavily contested division, with younger sumo wrestlers on their way up competing with those older sumo wrestlers who have dropped from Juryo and are determined to regain the higher rank. A key incentive is the difference between being ranked in the topmost Makushita slot versus the bottomost Juryo rank, which has been likened to being that between heaven and hell: A Makushita wrestler is expected to carry out chores for the stable and any sekitori within it, whereas the Juryo wrestler will be served upon. Similarly the Juryo wrestler receives a comfortable monthly salary, whereas the Makushita wrestler still only receives a small living allowance.

Winning all seven matches in a tournament grants an unconditional advance to the Juryo division if one is ranked within the top thirty members of the division. For any other member of the divsion a 7-0 record will guarantee promotion to within the top thirty members, so two successive 7-0 records will allow a Makushita wrestler to advance to Juryo.

Those in the uppermost ranks of the division and thus slated for a possible advancement may have a match with those in Juryo, either as one of the seven matches they are expected to compete in, or occasionally in addition to the matches they have already had. This eighth match is sometimes required as a result of tournament withdrawals due to injury of Sekitori. It is ignored if one loses and counted if one wins making it easier for a Makushita wrestler to advance.