A Jedi Knight referred to a member of the Jedi Order, who had completed their Jedi training as a student in the Jedi academy, in addition to one-on-one training as a Padawan and the completion of the Jedi Trials.

As a Knight and a full member of the Order, these individuals received assignments from the Jedi Councils and strove to find peace, and maintain order within the Galactic Republic. Making up the majority of the Order's members, the public was familiar with this title more than any other, and, thus, many addressed any Jedi as "Knight".

Seven hundred and thirty years after the Order's founding on Tython in the earliest days of galactic civilization, the Jedi Knights were brought into the Galactic Republic, working as peacekeepers for the fledgling government.[1] A loose band of both philosophers and warriors, these early Knights had no central leadership, nor any formalized training at an academy; instead, they completed a series of tasks set by their master, who would then bestow upon them the rank of a Jedi Knight.

As the Order grew more centralized with the foundation of the Jedi High Council, following the Great Sith War, and the Republic's donation of the Sacred Spire on Coruscant for use by the Knights, residing at the capital, the role of Knights in the Republic became more defined. Working as peacekeepers, diplomats, and investigators during peace time, the Knights helped to establish peace following the war. However, due to the High Council's seemingly complacent attitude during the Mandalorian War, many Knights turned away from the Order and joined the Revanchist's movement, which would eventually lead to the Jedi Civil War.

When the Order recovered, the training of Padawans to Knighthood resumed more formally until the New Sith Wars and the creation of the Army of Light forced the Order to, once again, take on a militaristic way of life. When the Brotherhood of Darkness was defeated, and the Ruusan Reformation put into effect, formal training began again and the Order flourished.