In the automobile and, to a lesser extent, aviation sectors, fuel injection technology has largely replaced carburetors. Carburetors are still widely used in lawnmowers, rototillers, and other small engines.

Samuel Morey invented the first carburetor in 1826. Siegfried Marcus was the first to design a carburetor for use in a petroleum engine, with his invention for a system that mixes fuel and air on July 6, 1872. In 1888, Karl Benz patented a carburetor as part of his research and development of internal combustion engines and their components. The first carburetors were surface carburetors, which blend air and fuel by flowing over the surface of gasoline.

Wilhelm Maybach & Gottlieb Daimler created a float carburetor using the atomizer nozzle in 1885. The Daimler-Maybach carburetor was widely imitated, resulting in patent disputes. The Daimler company's claim of precedence was dismissed in favor of Edward Butler's 1884 spraying carburetor, which he employed on his Petrol Cycle. In 1893, Hungarian engineers JánosCsonka and DonátBánki patented a stationary engine carburetor.