Conference interpretation is a specialized occupation for cross-language and cross-cultural communication and is at the high end of professional interpretation.

Conference interpretation includes two interpretation modes of simultaneous interpretation and simultaneous interpretation. The purpose of both consecutive interpretation and simultaneous interpretation is to enable people using different languages to achieve clear and accessible instant communication. The two interpretation modes complement each other, and their functions and quality requirements are exactly the same. Competent conference interpreters should possess two modes of interpretation skills.

Regarding the use of the two interpretation modes, consecutive interpretation is often used in smaller venues involving only two working languages, such as diplomatic meetings, bilateral negotiations, visits, small-scale consultations, interviews with reporters, judicial and quasi-judicial processes, party speeches, press conferences, and short seminars. Simultaneous interpretation, as it has the advantage of not occupying meeting time, has developed into the most commonly used mode in meeting interpretation, and is widely used in various international occasions. Almost all official international multilingual conferences and international organizations (such as the United Nations and the European Union) have adopted interpretation as a standard interpretation model.