The men's 200 metre race was held for the third time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.

The event was won by Robert Kerr of Canada, the first win by a nation other than the United States.

Two of the five runners from the 1904 Games returned: silver medalist Nathaniel Cartmell of the United States and fifth-place finisher Robert Kerr of Canada (the only man not to reach the four-man final in 1904).

[2] Austria, Belgium, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Sweden each made their debut in the event.

The United States made its third appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.

* unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m) ** straight course The winner of each heat advanced, with all others eliminated.

The race was extremely tight until the final straightaway, where Hawkins pulled away to win.

There was very little room separating the lead three runners, with Kerr about nine inches in front of Hamilton and twelve ahead of Radoczy.

Cloughen finally pulled ahead of Reed three-quarters of the way into the race, holding onto the lead until the finish.