Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are locked in a tie for first place Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney have finished the Iowa caucuses in a virtual tie, with Mr Santorum leading by 34 votes with 99% of the vote counted.
Ron Paul finished third, and Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann settled into a second tier of candidates.
Rick Perry indicated he was suspending his campaign after finishing fifth.
The caucus meetings were the first time voters had a say in the race to face Democratic President Barack Obama in November's general election.
Tuesday evening's contest launched months of caucuses and primary elections in 50 states, Washington DC and other territories, culminating in the Republican National Convention in August where the party nominee will be formally anointed.
'Game on!'
In a brief speech late in the evening, Mr Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, kept his sights firmly trained on Mr Obama rather than engaging his Republican rivals or claiming victory.
Percentage of the vote | |
|---|---|
| Santorum | 25 |
| Romney | 25 |
| Paul | 22 |
| Gingrich | 13 |
| Perry | 10 |
| Bachmann | 5 |
| Huntsman | 1 |
Source: AP | |
"The gap between his promises four years ago and his performance is as great as anything I've ever seen in my life," he said, before crying: "On to New Hampshire!"
Mr Santorum also stopped short of declaring victory, but declared "Game on!" He praised his faith and his family in a speech which marked his own entry to the national spotlight.
Mr Paul, a Texas congressman, finished third and vowed to continue onto New Hampshire, which holds a primary election next week.
"This momentum is going to continue," he told a jubilant crowd of supporters. "We will go on, we will raise the money."
'Massachusetts moderate'
Finishing fifth, Texas Governor Rick Perry said he was returning to his home state in order to "determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race".
Mr Gingrich, who saw a brief lead evaporate under a barrage of negative advertising last month, pledged to remain in the race and challenge Mr Romney, "a Massachusetts moderate".
"We are not going to go out and run nasty ads," said Mr Gingrich, who finished fourth.
"But I do reserve the right to tell the truth. And if the truth seems negative that may be more of a comment on his record than it is about politics."
Mrs Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman who won the Iowa straw poll last summer, finished sixth, and urged voters not to let the media anoint a Republican nominee based solely on the Iowa results.
Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman was on the ballot, but did not campaign in Iowa.
Small-town meetings
An estimated record 123,000 voters gathered at more than 1,700 fire stations, schools, public buildings and private homes ahead of the official 20:00 EST (01:00 GMT) start to the voting.
Many of the caucuses were tiny affairs held in small towns in each of Iowa's 99 counties.
Iowa caucus
- 'First in the nation' contest to decide each party's nominee
- 46 TV ads - 35 from the campaigns themselves - have been broadcast in the state this election cycle
- In 2008, about 120,000 Iowa Republicans attended caucuses
- Just half of Iowa Republican winners since 1976 have gone on to become the nominee
- Only three modern Iowa winners have become president: Jimmy Carter, George W Bush and Barack Obama
In Dawson, fewer than 20 voters gathered at a fire station to hold a caucus amid the fire trucks, reports BBC North America Editor Mark Mardell.
Iowa was not expected to settle the contest - John McCain, the eventual Republican nominee in 2008, came fourth in the state's caucuses that year - but it will help shape the race for the White House.
The Iowa campaign had been a roller-coaster affair since the summer, with Mrs Bachmann, Mr Perry and Mr Gingrich each taking a brief turn at the head of the pack.
Those three - along with ex-candidate Herman Cain - were buoyed by support from conservatives unsatisfied with Mr Romney, who held steady in second place in polling. But each in turn collapsed under further scrutiny or, in Mr Gingrich's case, heavy negative advertising.
After Iowa, the state of New Hampshire holds its primary election on 10 January. Mitt Romney has a big lead there, and Mr Santorum consistently polls less than 5% in the New England state.
Over the next six months, each US state will vote on the presidential contenders before a final nominee is selected.
Voters remain concerned by the slow pace of economic recovery from the recession that started during the end of the presidency of George W Bush and officially ended in 2009.
By The Latest New Staff
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