The 1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 10th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo.

Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1978.

[1] Stanford defeated California in the final, 7–6 (in three overtimes), to win their second national title.

For the second consecutive year, the leading scorer for the tournament was Scott Schulte from Bucknell (13 goals).

A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.