The invention discloses a kinematic calibration system and method for an industrial robot. The kinematic calibration system comprises measurement targets placed in a working area, a robot and an end effector arranged on the robot, as well as a computer, wherein the computer is provided with a first receiving module for reading joint angle data of the robot, a second receiving module for reading detection data of three displacement sensors, a first computation module for computing the nominal coordinate positions of the measurement targets according to data of both the first receiving module and the second receiving module, and a second computation module for computing compensation data of the robot according to the difference between the nominal distance of the measurement targets and the actual distance. The kinematic calibration system can not only correct kinematic parameters of the robot to improve the absolute positioning accuracy of operation but also calibrate the relative position relationship between a workpiece and a base of the robot, is very low in cost and simple and convenient to operate, and can be widely applied to middle and small-sized enterprises.