Academy Students:
The academy is where would-be ninja start; they are not actually considered ninja until they graduate. Academy students take formal and practical tests of all sorts and are taught the basics. Basic weapon usage, such as kunai and shuriken, is commonly taught. Elementary ninja techniques, though they vary from village to village, are also taught. These include the Transformation Technique, Rope Escape Technique, Body Replacement Technique and the Clone Technique.
Genin:
Genin are the lowest level of ninja and also the ones that display the most difference in power. When they become Genin, ninja start to do their bit for their village's economy – being sent on missions that the village gets paid for. They are typically sent either on D-rank missions, which are the lowest rank and are almost entirely risk-free jobs of manual labor, or, very rarely, on C-rank missions, which are a cut above that and begin to verge on real "ninja" work – though they generally have a very low possibility of risk to the ninjas involved, especially since their Jonin level sensei often accompanies them. Recently, Konohagakure has been shorthanded in upper-level ninja ever since the attack by Otogakure and Sunagakure, and has been forced to occasionally send Genin on higher-ranked missions.
Chunin:
Chunin are ninja who are qualified to watch over and guide other ninja. Chunin have reached a level of maturity that primarily consists of leadership skills and tactical prowess. Some of them, like Iruka Umino, function as teachers and others, like Shikamaru Nara, serve as team leaders in charge of small teams who need to make decisions and utilize the skills of the shinobi under their command to the maximum effect. Chunin are typically sent on C or B-rank missions
Jonin:
Jonin are generally highly-experienced ninja with great individual skill who serve as military captains. They are often sent on A-rank missions, and experienced Jonin may even be sent on S-rank missions (which are considered to be the greatest difficulty). They may also carry out these missions alone. They are sometimes assigned as sensei for three-person teams of Genin. It is as of yet unknown what one has to undergo to become one, although it is mentioned in the Naruto Anime Profiles databook that Jonin are appointed, however there was also a mention of a Jonin exam in the Kurama filler arc. It is known that most Jonin are generally able to use at least two types of elemental jutsu.
Tokubetsu Jonin:
Tokubetsu Jonin are ninja who, rather than all-around Jonin training, have Jonin-level ability in a single area or skill, much like warrant officers of real-world militaries. They are elite specialists in their areas and are often assigned as subordinates to regular Jonin when their services are needed.
Kage:
Those who have achieved the title of Kage are the leaders of the five most powerful Hidden Villages and generally the most powerful ninja in their respective villages. There may be exceptions, however; for example, a ninja may be the most powerful at the time of being installed as Kage, but he will age and a more youthful ninja may become more powerful.
S-Class:
S-class ninja have gained power far beyond an average Jonin and earned a legendary status. This title is merely a description rather than an actual rank; the ninja's official rank with a village will usually still be Jonin. However, it can sometimes be lower, or they can have no rank at all. The allegiances of these ninja range from being part of the village's own ninja to being wandering ninja who are still loyal to their village, like Jiraiya. Some ninja of this level tend to leave their villages behind to seek their own ambitions, thus becoming missing-nin. The ninja organization Akatsuki is composed of eight S-class missing-nin. Ninja of this class are often noted in the Bingo book, a list of notable enemy ninja marked for assassination that each ninja village provides for its Jonin and ANBU squad members. Most ninja, even high-level ones, choose to flee rather than face someone of the S-class.
Medical-nin:
Medic-nin are ninja who specialize in medical treatment especially using medical jutsu. Becoming a medic-nin requires a great level of intelligence and excellent chakra control, since medic-nin use chakra to heal injuries. Aside from their medical training, their combat training consists mainly of taijutsu skills, with emphasis placed on evading enemy attacks. This is because the death of the medic-nin could result in the death of the team. On dangerous missions, a medic-nin will usually be sent along with the team, to increase the survival rate of that team.
Missing-nin:
Missing-nin are ninja who have abandoned their Hidden Village, and as such can include ninja of every rank. These ninja are considered traitors and are hunted down because of the secrets they may hold. Other Hidden Villages would be interested in purchasing this information because it could be useful in gaining an upper hand in battle or obtaining a bloodline limit unique to a village. Villages create special units of hunter-nin to take care of this problem, although it's unlikely that every missing-nin has a team of hunter-nin sent after them. Some of the missing-nin from the series are Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, all Akatsuki members, Sasuke Uchiha, and Zabuza Momochi (now deceased).
ANBU:
The ANBU is actually short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. The name is a play on words, as in English acronyms like SWAT, where the two kanji used to abbreviate the group's full name constitute an actual word on their own. The ANBU wear porcelain animal masks, in order to distinguish themselves from normal shinobi and to conceal their identities. They also have standard uniforms consisting of black and grey armor, arm guards, and a signature spiral tattoo on their arms. Certain ANBU wear black cowls over their standard uniforms, and squad leaders may wear white cowls.
Hunter-nin:
Hunter-nin are a special team within each Hidden Village given the specific duty of hunting down missing-nin. They kill their target, taking the head as proof, and then completely dispose of the body by using various methods, such as cremation or the summoning of wild carrion crows to devour the corpse. This is done in order to make sure the village secrets which a ninja's body holds -- such as chakra types, herbs eaten, ninjutsu, and kekkei genkai -- will not be revealed to outsiders. Hunter-nin are also supposed to destroy the corpse at the very spot the body is lying; it is not to be moved after it is dead. Hunter-nin are also taught about how the human body works and how to kill people easily. Early in the series, Haku poses as a hunter-nin as a ruse to rescue the supposedly killed Zabuza Momochi. Real hunter-nin have only been alluded to, and so far have not been seen in the world of Naruto, though it is possible they actually exist as part of the ranks of ANBU; canon is unclear on the differences between the two groups. They are at least ANBU-trained, as mentioned by Kakashi during his short explanation of the group.
Root:
Konoha ANBU are usually under the direct command of the Hokage, but several years before the events in the first part of Naruto, there was once an ANBU Training Department known as "Root", which was created and directly controlled by Danzo. Since Danzo is a war hawk, and opposed the Third Hokage, Root was disbanded. However, many members remained loyal to Root; at least two (aside from Danzo) are known, one of them being Sai, who is placed in Naruto Uzumaki's team in the second part of Naruto.
Konoha Military Police:
The Konoha Military Police Force, or Military Police for short, is a unique organization in Konoha, though other villages may have similar organizations. The Military Police previously consisted of mostly Uchiha clan members (the Uchiha being its founders); however, now that Sasuke and Itachi are the only surviving clan members, this is no longer the case. The Military Police are in charge of law enforcement within the village, and their jurisdiction is virtually unlimited except in matters that are under the Hokage's direct control. They also respect ANBU's own investigative system and inner-organization discipline. Their symbol is the Uchiha crest because the Uchiha family founded the organization.