The men's discus throw field event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place on September 1 and 2.

Ricky Bruch earned Sweden's first medal in the men's discus throw with his bronze.

The United States made its 17th appearance, having competed in every edition of the Olympic men's discus throw to date.

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936, with the qualifying round completely separate from the divided final.

In qualifying, each athlete received three attempts; those recording a mark of at least 59.00 metres advanced to the final.