The relationship between the state and guild institutions is a significant issue in the study of economic and institutional structures in contemporary Iran. Drawing on the theoretical framework of state corporatism, this study examines how guilds have been organized and managed in Iran and compares this relationship during the late Pahlavi period and the Islamic Republic. The research adopts a historical–comparative approach, with data derived from the analysis of laws, institutional documents, and historical and economic studies. The study hypothesizes that in both periods the state attempted to organize and regulate guild activities through specific institutional arrangements within a form of state corporatism, although the mechanisms and institutional configurations of this relationship differed across the two periods. The findings indicate that during the late Pahlavi era, the organization of guilds largely took place within the framework of expanding state bureaucracy and economic modernization policies, implemented in a centralized and top down manner. In contrast, in the Islamic Republic this relationship has evolved through a network of guild institutions and economic associations which, despite their institutional diversity, remain subject to state regulation and guidance. The comparative analysis therefore suggests that while the institutional instruments and mechanisms governing the relationship between the state and guilds have changed, the broader logic of state corporatism as a framework for organizing and controlling guild institutions has persisted across both periods.