Yucatec Maya belongs to the Mayan language family, within the Yucatecan branch. It descends from Proto-Mayan, spoken some four thousand years ago, and is distantly related to languages such as Ch'ol, Tseltal, and Q'eqchi'. It has been spoken continuously in the Yucatán Peninsula since pre-Columbian times and is a direct heir to the tradition of Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions of the Classic period.

Speakers of Yucatec Maya, known as Maya or maaya t'aan speakers, live mainly in the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo, as well as northern Belize. With around 750,000 speakers, it is the second most widely spoken Indigenous language in Mexico after Nahuatl. Yucatec Maya culture preserves agricultural traditions centered on the milpa, ceremonies such as the Ch'a'a Cháak rain petition, and a rich culinary and festive heritage.

After the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, completed around 1547, Franciscan missionaries adapted the Latin alphabet to write the language, producing grammars, dictionaries, and catechisms. During this period the Books of Chilam Balam were composed, texts in Yucatec Maya in Latin script blending Indigenous tradition and colonial knowledge. Bishop Diego de Landa oversaw the destruction of Maya codices at the auto-da-fé of Maní (1562), though he also left a key record of the language and script in his Relación de las cosas de Yucatán.

Yucatec Maya retains relatively high vitality compared with other Indigenous Mexican languages, with intergenerational transmission still alive in many rural communities. It is recognized as a national language of Mexico under the General Law of Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2003) and is supported by INALI. There are bilingual education programs, radio broadcasting, contemporary literature, and digital content production, though pressures from Spanish and urban migration persist.