It is the court's first verdict since it was set up 10 years ago. He will be sentenced at a later hearing.
He headed a rebel group during an inter-ethnic conflict in a gold-rich region of Democratic Republic of Congo.
The prosecution accused him of using children as young as nine as bodyguards, sex slaves and fighters.
In a unanimous decision, the three judges said evidence proved that as head of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and its armed wing, Lubanga bore responsibility for the recruitment of child soldiers under the age of 15 who had participated actively on the frontline.
Lubanga, who was arrested in 2005, has the right to appeal against the guilty verdict on all three war crimes charges.
He could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The court cannot impose the death penalty.
US-based Human Rights Watch says more than 60,000 people were killed in the conflict between Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in Ituri, in north-eastern DR Congo.
Legal precedents
Amnesty International said the conviction of the Congolese rebel leader showed the ICC could bring the world's worst offenders to justice.
Thomas Lubanga
Leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an ethnic Hema militia
Head of the UPC's military wing, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC)
Accused of recruiting children under 15 as soldiers
Arrested in Kinshasa in March 2005
Held by the ICC at The Hague since 2006
Born in 1960, has a degree in psychology
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