[5] Each team sent a squad of nine riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 162 cyclists.

[6][7] The presentation of the teams – where each team's roster and manager are introduced in front the media and local dignitaries – took place at the Piazza della Loggia in Brescia on 10 May and was televised in Italy on Network 1.

[1][6] The teams entering the race were:[5] The route for the 1983 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani on 19 February 1983.

[8][9][10] Covering a total of 3,922 km (2,437 mi), it included four time trials (three individual and one for teams), and fifteen stages with categorized climbs that awarded mountains classification points.

The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages – wore a pink jersey.

In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists.