► We examine specific gross motor skills in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). ► Children with ID scored lower on most specific skills than typically developing peers. ► The mild ID group scored lower on the locomotor skills than the borderline ID group. ► Positive relationship was found between object-control skills and sports participation. This study compared the specific gross motor skills of 156 children with intellectual disabilities (ID) (50 ≤ IQ ≥ 79) with that of 255 typically developing children, aged 7–12 years. Additionally, the relationship between the specific gross motor skills and organized sports participation was examined in both groups. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and a self-report measure were used to assess children's gross motor skills and sports participation, respectively. The children with ID scored significantly lower on almost all specific motor skill items than the typically developing children. Children with mild ID scored lower on the locomotor skills than children with borderline ID. Furthermore, we found in all groups that children with higher object-control scores participated more in organized sports than children with lower object-control scores. Our results support the importance of attention for well-developed gross motor skills in children with borderline and mild ID, especially to object-control skills, which might contribute positively to their sports participation.