ABSTRACT This paper is dedicated to the study of the multiple‐input multiple‐output generalized frequency division multiplexing with index modulation (MIMO‐GFDM‐IM) wireless communication system. This system garners significant interest for future communications technologies due to its notable features, such as high spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, and robustness against multipath propagation channels. Preceding the study of the system, the model of signals and systems for MIMO‐GFDM is developed based on the MIMO orthogonal frequency division multiplexing model and detection strategies for the system are presented. A new proposal for MIMO‐GFDM detection, based on two filtering phases, is presented, resulting in an attractive tradeoff between detection performance and computational complexity. The presented system model is then extended to include index modulation as an information carrier, resulting in the MIMO‐GFDM‐IM system. Different proposals for detectors based on processing the complete channel matrix and also for detectors of reduced complexity are evaluated, from the perspective of detection performance and computational complexity.