Richard Eder of "The New York Times" called the film "an interesting, rather slick and excessively long documentary about the small but intensely competitive world of bodybuilding." "Variety" wrote, "Technical credits are generally excellent with Fiore's camerawork a major asset. Commercial aspects will depend on the interest in local markets in the sport itself. Certainly, after the first quarter hour of flexing muscles, they all begin to look alike to the non-athletic viewer." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "The film allows us to get to know two bodybuilders very well, and, as a result, 'Pumping Iron' is much more a story of human beings than it is a freak show. I actually ended up caring who won the contest." He ranked it #9 in his year-end list of the best films of 1977.