Chondrites are the most abundant meteorite class, constituting more than 85 percent of meteorite falls. Like most meteorites, chondrites originated in the asteroid belt where collisions and gravitational perturbations put them into Earth-crossing orbits. Chondrites formed about 4.56 billion years ago as part of the formation of their parent asteroids. They are chemically quite similar to one another and, apart from the most volatile elements (e.g., hydrogen and helium), to the Sun. Since most of the mass of the solar system is in the Sun, the initial composition of the solar system would have been similar to the Sun's composition. The great age of the chondrites, their primitive chemistry, and the relatively unmodified state of their constituents all suggest that these meteorites retain a record of processes that happened in the solar nebula before and during the phase of planet formation. Nevertheless, the meaning of this record remains to be fully deciphered. The chondrites also contain material, including organic matter and tiny grains that formed around dying stars, that predates the formation of the solar system.

Most chondrites contain the anhydrous silicate minerals olivine, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene, and plagioclase, as well as the nickel-iron minerals kamacite and taenite, and the iron sulfide troilite. Some contain claylike hydrous silicates.