Protagonists

• Rayman is the main protagonist of the series. He has no arms, legs, or neck, though he has hands, feet, and a head that are able to move independently from his body. Rayman is able to launch long range punches at his enemies, and in some games, eject lums from his gloves. He has the ability to use his hair to glide and float by spinning it at a rapid speed. He is typically found wearing white gloves, a red neckerchief on a purple shirt and a white ring on the chest, (which was replaced with a red and purple hoodie), and he wears yellow trainers. He is voiced by David Gasman and Steve Perkinson in the video games and by Billy West in the animated series. He was awarded the Best New Character award of 1995 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.

• Globox is a gentle, sensitive glute, who acts as Rayman's sidekick. He is very cowardly, fleeing at the sight of any enemies, leaving Rayman alone to fight them. Globox's magic power is the ability to create a small cloud that rains over fire and machinery after performing a rain dance. He is shown to be allergic to plum juice, which has alcoholic effects on him. In Rayman 3, he is voiced by John Leguizamo.

• Betilla the Fairy is a fairy who helps Rayman throughout the first game by granting him several powers. Mister Dark kidnaps her to stop this, but she is rescued once Rayman chases Mister Dark off. She appeared in the first game and later in Rayman Origins, where it is revealed she was the one who created Rayman (in the original trailer for the game).

• Ly the Fairy is a fairy made by the godlike Polokus to help Rayman. She appears as a weak and serious character, but despite this, she's potentially dangerous if she has to be, though is an energetic, loving and playful character and hardly loses her patience. She likes activity and experimenting with magic. She is voiced by Kim Michelle Broderick.

• Murfy serves as a guide to Rayman. He has a really hasty nature unable to deal with failure. He appears bored with his job and can't be bothered with trivial details. His race is depicted as mischievous and described as "cultivated hedonists". He is voiced by Billy West.

• The Teensies are a race of small Cyan skin colored creatures with elongated noses and beady black eyes. They exist in many forms and most of them have magical powers. Their purpose is to unveil all the roads in the world. They are led by Grand Minimus, who acts as caretaker of the Heart of the World; the Grand Minimus is the greatest little king of them all.

• Bzzit is the son of a large mosquito named Moskito who Rayman befriends in the first game. He helps Rayman out by giving him a ride during various flying sections.

• Tarayzan, the Musician and Joe are three friends of Rayman's who find themselves in different predicaments thanks to Mister Dark's doing and each give Rayman a temporary power in return for his help.

• Bubble Dreamer (a.k.a. Polokus) is the creator of Rayman's world, who appears in Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Rayman Origins. He dreams up creatures that then come in to existence.

Antagonists

• Mister Dark is Rayman's first enemy and the main villain in Rayman. Little is known about him, except that he is an incredibly talented yet evil sorcerer. After stealing the Great Protoon and imprisoning all the Electoons, Mr. Dark hides away in his lair, at the Candy Chateau, high above the Cave Of Skops. Once Rayman meets him, Mr. Dark shape shifts into fused versions of his main Henchmen and flees after he is defeated. Ever since fleeing the scene, he has not reappeared fully.

• Admiral Razorbeard is Rayman's second enemy, the main villain in Rayman 2 and the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3. He commands a force of Robo-Pirates and ships that plague Rayman's world. He rules from a gigantic ship, known as the Buccaneer. Razorbeard is infamous for his attacks that have reduced over 100 peaceful planets to cosmic dust, making him a vicious and cruel mass murderer. His personality is mainly similar to a power-hungry dictator, a cruel and sadistic villain. Razorbeard is also extremely frustrated and he has a short fuse, as he throws minor temper tantrums whenever one of his henchmen comes to tell him bad news. Unlike Mr. Dark, Razorbeard fights Rayman at the game's climax, but after being beaten by Rayman, he flees the scene. In Rayman 2, he is voiced by Ken Starcevic.

• Andre is a maniacal dark lum and the main villain in Rayman 3 and Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge. Globox has a strange fondness for him. At the beginning of the game, Globox accidentally swallows him, and the Teensies tell Rayman to take Globox to a doctor to get him out. After visiting three different doctors, Andre finds Reflux and makes a deal with him: that if he steals King Gumsi's sceptre, he will give him the opportunity to kill Rayman. At the end of the game, Reflux is defeated and Rayman turns Andre back into a red lum. Shortly after he turns back into a dark lum when scared by Rayman's hand's shadow puppet. He is voiced by Ken Starcevic.

• Reflux is a Knaaren, a race of invincible, ruthless warriors who cannot stand sunlight, who gives up his invincibility while stealing the scepter from the Leptys. He is voiced by Ziggy Marley.

• The Magician is a Teensy and the main villain in Rayman Origins. An obsessive admirer of Mr. Dark, he initially poses as an ally to Rayman and his friends, recruiting them for the collection of Lums, which he presumably uses as a power source for his mechanical base in the Moody Clouds, from which he plans to take over the Glade of Dreams. When the heroes make their way into the base at the game's climax, the Magician reveals his true identity as the base's mastermind, before dropping them into a pit and forcing them to battle mechanical incarnations of previous enemies (in a similar manner to the battle against Mr. Dark's henchmen at the climax of the original Rayman). When the heroes manage to escape and make their way back to the Magician, he attempts to flee aboard an airship, but they give chase on the back of Moskito, eventually causing him to crash into the base's core. The ensuing explosion kills the Magician and destroys the base, while the heroes survive and fall back to the Glade of Dreams unharmed.

• The Livid Dead are a race of elderly skeletons who reside in an underworld known as The Land of the Livid Dead. In Rayman Origins, they are annoyed by Rayman and his friends' loud snoring, so they declare war on the surface world, sending it into chaos.