- Pinocchio – A marionette who gains wisdom through a series of misadventures that lead him to becoming a real human as reward for his good deeds.
- Geppetto – An elderly, impoverished woodcarver and the creator and father figure of Pinocchio. He wears a yellow wig that resembles cornmeal mush (or polendina), and because of this the children of the neighborhood and some adults call him "Polendina", which greatly annoys him. "Geppetto" is a syncopated form of Giuseppetto, which in turn is a diminutive of the name Giuseppe (Italian for Joseph).
- Candlewick aka "Lucignolo" – A juvenile delinquent who is as tall and thin as a wick. He is Pinocchio's best friend, but also serves as a bad influence for him. His nickname translates to either "Lampwick" or "Candlewick" because of his lanky physique.
- The Coachman (l'Omino) – The owner of the Land of Toys, who takes naughty, disobedient, and lazy children there on his stagecoach, which is pulled by twenty-four donkeys with white shoes on their hooves. Once the children who visit turn into donkeys, he sells them for labor.
- The Fairy with Turquoise Hair (la Fata dai capelli turchini) – The spirit of the forest, who rescues Pinocchio and adopts him first as her brother, then as her son.
- The Terrible Dogfish (Il terribile Pesce-cane) – A mile-long, five-story-high fish. Pescecane, while literally meaning "dog fish", generally means "shark" in Italian.
- The Talking Cricket (il Grillo Parlante) – A cricket whom Pinocchio kills after it tries to give him some advice, and later returns as a ghost to continue advising him.
- Mangiafuoco ("Fire-Eater" in English) – The wealthy director of the Great Marionette Theater, who has red eyes and a black beard that reaches to the floor, with his mouth being "as wide as an oven [with] teeth like yellow fangs". Despite his appearance, Mangiafuoco is not evil.
- The Green Fisherman (il Pescatore verde) – A green-skinned ogre on the Island of Busy Bees who catches Pinocchio in his fishing net and attempts to eat him.
- The Fox and the Cat (la Volpe e il Gatto) – Greedy anthropomorphic animals who pretend to be lame and blind respectively. Throughout the story, they lead Pinocchio astray, rob him, and eventually try to hang him.
- Mastro Antonio ([anˈtɔːnjo] in Italian, /ɑːnˈtoʊnjoʊ/ ahn-TOH-nyoh in English) – An elderly carpenter, who finds the log that eventually becomes Pinocchio, planning to make it into a table leg until it cries out "Please be careful!" The children call Antonio "Mastro Ciliegia (cherry)" because of his red nose.
- Harlequin (Arlecchino), Punch (Pulcinella), and Signora Rosaura – Harlequin, Punch, and Signora Rosaura are marionettes at the theater who embrace Pinocchio as their brother.
- The Innkeeper (l'Oste) – An innkeeper who is tricked by the Fox and the Cat and unknowingly leads Pinocchio into an ambush.
- The Falcon (il Falco) – A falcon who helps the Fairy with Turquoise Hair rescue Pinocchio from hanging.
- Medoro ([meˈdɔːro] in Italian) – A poodle who is the mice-pulled stagecoach driver for the Fairy with Turquoise Hair. He is described as being dressed in court livery. He wears a tricorn with gold lace over a wig of waist-length white curls, a chocolate-colored velvet coat with diamond buttons and two huge pockets filled with bones, crimson velvet breeches, silk stockings, and silver-buckled slippers.
- The Owl (la Civetta) and the Crow (il Corvo) – Two famous doctors who diagnose Pinocchio alongside the Talking Cricket.
- The Parrot (il Pappagallo) – A parrot who tells Pinocchio of the Fox and the Cat's trickery and mocks him for being tricked by them.
- The Judge (il Giudice) – An old gorilla who works as a judge of Catchfools.
- The Serpent (il Serpente) – A large serpent with bright green skin, burning fiery eyes, and a smoking pointed tail.
- The Farmer (il Contadino) – An unnamed farmer whose chickens are plagued by weasel attacks. He previously owned a watch dog named Melampo.
- The Glowworm (la Lucciola) – A glowworm that Pinocchio encounters in the farmer's grape field.
- The Pigeon (il Colombo) – A pigeon who gives Pinocchio a ride to the seashore.
- The Dolphin (il Delfino) – A dolphin who gives Pinocchio a ride to the Island of Busy Bees and informs him of the Terrible Dogfish.
- The Snail (la Lumaca) – A snail who works for the Fairy with Turquoise Hair. Pinocchio later gives all his money to the Snail by their next encounter.
- Alidoro ([aliˈdɔːro] in Italian, /ˌɑːliˈdɒroʊ/ AH-lee-DORR-oh in English, literally "Golden Wings"; il can Mastino) – The old mastiff of a carabineer on the Island of Busy Bees.
- The Marmot (la Marmotta) – A Dormouse who lives in the Land of Toys and informs Pinocchio of the donkey fever.
- The Ringmaster (il Direttore) – The unnamed ringmaster of a circus that buys Pinocchio from the Coachman.
- The Master (il Compratore) – A man who wants to make Pinocchio's hide into a drum after the Ringmaster sold an injured Pinocchio to him.
- The Tuna Fish (il Tonno) – A tuna fish as "large as a two-year-old horse" who has been swallowed by the Terrible Shark.
- Giangio ([ˈdʒandʒo] in Italian, /ˈdʒɑːndʒoʊ/ JAHN-joh in English) – The farmer who buys Romeo as a donkey and who Pinocchio briefly works for. He is called Farmer John in some versions.
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