古王国时期（前2686至2181年），这个时期埃及多方面文化经过一定程度的融合达到第一个历史上的巅峰，他与后来的中王国时期和新王国时期相同，标志着尼罗河谷文化的兴盛。古王国时期跨越了四个王朝――第三王朝至第六王朝，第七王朝时王国开始分裂，相对的文化也呈现衰败状态，埃及很快进入到了下一个被历史学家们称为“第一中间期”的时代。
古王国时期埃及的皇城首都坐落于孟菲斯城，左塞王曾在这儿建造了他的宫殿。这个时期最著名的产物就是那为数众多的金字塔，在当时被作为法老皇陵。因此，古王国时期亦被称为“金字塔时期”。
历史
开端：第三王朝
第三王朝最著名的法老乔塞尔建造了第一座金字塔―阶梯式金字塔，它位于萨卡拉，有6层，由左赛王的“维西尔”伊姆霍特普监督而成。
埃及原来的许多小国家在这一时期都变成由法老直接统辖的州郡―――“诺姆”，各“诺姆”设立州长负责税收及土地管理等工作。
这个时期的埃及人笃信法老王能够确保一年一度尼罗河的泛滥可以使农作物丰收，他们相信法老是上天为他们选定的王者。
黄金时代：第四王朝
第四王朝的王权统治达到了一个鼎盛时期，第一位法老斯尼弗鲁王建造了三座金字塔，第一座位于麦杜门，是以阶梯金字塔演变而成的角锥体金字塔。第二座是位于达淑尔的弯曲形金字塔（因建造失败得名），第三座则是真正的角锥体金字塔。
The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley (the others being Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom).
The term itself was coined by nineteenth century historians and the distinction between the Old Kingdom and the Early Dynastic Period is not one which would have been recognized by Ancient Egyptians. Not only was the last king of the Early Dynastic Period related to the first two kings of the Old Kingdom, but the 'capital', the royal residence, remained at Ineb-Hedg, the Ancient Egyptian name for Memphis. The basic justification for a separation between the two periods is the revolutionary change in architecture accompanied by the effects on Egyptian society and economy of large-scale building projects.
The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2686 BC – 2134 BC). Many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralized at Memphis. The Old Kingdom was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the First Intermediate Period.
The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis, where Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known for the large number of pyramids constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids."