Silk, known for its silky softness is the most luxurious of all rug fibers. Therefore hand knotted pure silk rugs are considered the most luxurious of all Oriental rugs.

Because of the nature of the silk fiber, a rug weaver can produce a very high knot count for hand knotted silk carpets which places silk rugs in the fine rug category.

Pure silk rugs, wool with part silk and rugs made with a silk foundation are types of silk rugs that are produced in several countries, such as China, Iran, Turkey and India.

Silk rugs from the city of Qum, Iran, also spelled Qom, are considered a prize in the world of Oriental rugs.