World folk-epics are those epics which are not just literary masterpieces but also an integral part of the worldview of a people. They were originally oral literatures, which were later written down by either single author or several writers.
- T'heydinn, a Mauritanian epic ensemble
- Gassire's Lute, a West African epic about the fall of the Ghana Empire
- Bayajidda, a West African epic
- Eri, a West African epic
- Oduduwa, a West African epic
- Silamaka, a West African epic
- Epic of Sundiata, a West African epic about the rise of the Mali Empire
- Lianja, a Central African epic
- Mwindo epic, a Central African epic
- Kebra Nagast, an Ethiopian epic
- Bahman-nameh, a Persian epic about the story of Bahman, son of Isfandyar
- Banu Goshasp-nama, a Persian epic about the daughter of Rustam
- Kush Nama, a Persian epic recounting the story of Kush the Tusked and Abtin.
- Faramarz-nama, a story about the Persian hero Faramarz
- The Garshasp-nama of Asadi Tusi, a Persian epic about the hero Garshasp
- Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran and world's longest epic poetry written by one poet
- Mem and Zin, a Kurdish folk and love epic
- Sirat Bani Hilal, an Arabic epic recounting the journeys and conquests of the Bani Hilal tribe
- One Thousand and One Nights, also known as "the Arabian Nights", is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales
- The Daredevils of Sassoun, an Armenian folk epic
- The Knight in the Panther's Skin, a Georgian epic poem
- Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest epic of the world from Mesopotamia
- The Hebrew Bible
- Epic of King Gesar, a Tibetan epic
- Secret History of the Mongols
- The Tale of the Heike, a Japanese epic
- Jewang ungi, a Korean epic
- Irk Bitig, a book about Turkic legends from Dunhuang, China
- Alpamysh, a Turkic epic
- Alp Er Tunga, a Turkic epic
- Epic of Manas, a Kyrgyz epic
- Book of Dede Korkut (Korkut Ata), an Oghuz epic
- Oğuzname, an Oghuz epic
- Kutadgu Bilig, a Karakhanid epic
- Mupamipa, a Lahu epic
- Olonkho, a Yakut
- Khamba Thoibi Sheireng, a Meitei language epic poem, consisting of 39,000 lines, based on the story of Khamba and Thoibi, from India.
- Numit Kappa, a 1st-century Meitei language epic poetry from India.
- Meghnad Badh Kavya, a Bengali language epic from India by Michael Madhusudan Dutt.
- Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic from India; known as Bharatayuddha in Indonesia and the second longest epic in the world ( the longest epic is Epic of Manas)
- Ramayana, a Sanskrit epic from India.
- Panchatantra, a Sanskrit epic of animal folktales from India.
- Sarala Mahabharata, an Odia language epic, India
- Jagamohana Ramayana, an Odia language epic poem, India
- Five Great Epics of Tamil literature, India:
- Mailaralingana in Kannada, India
- Manteswami Kavya, in Kannada, India
- Male Madeshvara, in Kannada, India
- Epic of Siri, in Tulu language from Karnataka, India
- Koti and Chennayya, in Tulu language, Karnataka, India
- Sepha Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a Thai epic about the adventures of Khun Phaen, a Siamese folk hero.
- Klei khan Y Dam San, an epic of Rade people in Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên), Vietnam.
- Đẻ đất đẻ nước, an epic of Mường people in Northern Vietnam.
- Hikayat Hang Tuah, a Malaccan, and Malay epic
- Bidasari, a Malay epic
- La Galigo, also known as Sureq Galigo or La Galigo, is an epic creation myth of the Buginese people from South Sulawesi, Indonesia it is one of the longest epics in the world.
- Nagarakertagama, an Indonesian epic
- Ibong Adarna, a Spanish-era Tagalog epic
- Biag ni Lam-Ang (Life of Lam-Ang), an epic of the Ilocano of northern Luzon, the Philippines
- Ibalong Epic, a 60-stanza fragment of a Bicolano full-length folk epic of Bicol Region of the Philippines.
- Hinilawod, an epic of the Panay-Bukidnons of Panay, the Visayas, central Philippines.
- Darangen, an epic of the Maranao of Mindanao, the Philippines. Derived from the Ramayana
Italic and Romance Languages
Northeast Caucasian languages