The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

Jimmy Ball won Canada's first medal in the event, a silver.

The world record holder, Emerson Spencer, came in fifth at the U.S. Olympic trials and missed the team.

The United States made its eighth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at every Olympic Games to that point.

The top two runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making a six-man final.