There has been increased attention on athletes’ intentions and motives for doping. However, the majority of studies on doping intentions to date have assumed that doping is a consciously-controlled, goal-directed behaviour, and neglected the possibility that athletes could be unwittingly and unintentionally exposed to doping. Unintentional doping is often regarded as an excuse given by athletes caught doping, but it could happen in circumstances where athletes are unaware that the food, drinks, supplements, or medications they consume contain banned performance enhancing drugs. Research into unintentional doping is in its infancy, but debates persist about the importance of this controversal topic. In this article we discuss the importance of unintentional doping as an issue in sport. We discuss the relevance of this research area based on statistics, reports, and recommendations (e.g., anti doping codes) offered by WADA, together with the evidence from recent empirical research. We also outline the importance of formative research on effective interventions to manage unintentional doping.