Macau is a small territory situated on the Chinese mainland at the mouth of the Canton River, near to Hong Kong. It was administered by Portugal until 1999 when it was transferred back to China.

The first stamps of Macau in 1884 and subsequent years, used the images of the Portuguese kings at the time, e.g. King Luis I and King Carlos I. After the Revolution of 1910, stocks of the Carlos stamps were overprinted “REPUBLICA”. After 1999, the main change in the stamps of Macao was that ‘MACAO” and “REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA” appeared in smaller print, with the addition of “MACAU, CHINA” also inscribed.