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We present an analysis of the global and spatially-resolved Kennicutt-Schmidt(KS) star formation relation in the FIRE (Feedback In Realistic Environments)suite of cosmological simulations, including halos with $z = 0$ masses rangingfrom $10^{10}$ -- $10^{13}$ M$_{\odot}$. We show that the KS relation emergesand is robustly maintained due to the effects of feedback on local scalesregulating star-forming gas, independent of the particular small-scale starformation prescriptions employed. We demonstrate that the time-averaged KSrelation is relatively independent of redshift and spatial averaging scale, andthat the star formation rate surface density is weakly dependent on metallicityand inversely dependent on orbital dynamical time. At constant star formationrate surface density, the `Cold \& Dense' gas surface density (gas with $T <300$~K and $n > 10$~cm$^{-3}$, used as a proxy for the molecular gas surfacedensity) of the simulated galaxies is $\sim$0.5~dex less than observed at$\sim$kpc scales. This discrepancy may arise from underestimates of the localcolumn density at the particle-scale for the purposes of shielding in thesimulations. Finally, we show that on scales larger than individual giantmolecular clouds, the primary condition that determines whether star formationoccurs is whether a patch of the galactic disk is thermally Toomre-unstable(not whether it is self-shielding): once a patch can no longer be thermallystabilized against fragmentation, it collapses, becomes self-shielding, cools,and forms stars, regardless of epoch or environment.

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