A chain wheel used in a drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. Most often, the power is conveyed by a roller chain, known as the drive chain or transmission chain, passing over a sprocket gear, with the teeth of the gear meshing with the holes in the links of the chain. The chain wheel is turned and this pulls the chain putting mechanical force into the system. Sometimes the power is output by simply rotating the chain, which can be used to lift or drag objects. In other situations, a second gear is placed and the power is recovered by attaching shafts or hubs to this gear. Though drive chains are often simple oval loops, they can also go around corners by placing more than two gears along the chain; gears that do not put power into the system or transmit it out are generally known as idler-wheels. By varying the diameter of the input and output gears with respect to each other, the gear ratio can be altered, so that, for example, the pedals of a bicycle can spin all the way around more than once for every rotation of the gear that drives the wheels. Chain wheels can be for 1 strand of chain, simplex, or up to 4 strands, quadplex.

Chain wheels are often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles. It is also used in a wide variety of machines and conveyor systems. Escalator systems use a combination of chains and chain wheels to drive the tread, the part you stand on, and the handrails. Some vehicle manufactures have gone back to chain drive instead of using the more modern timing belt in engines. Chain wheels are used on roller coasters to elevate the car to the top of an incline so that the car can commence its free downward fall under gravity.

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