The men's long jump was an event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, United States.

American Carl Lewis was the clear favorite; in the four years since the 1980 Games (which he qualified for but would not have been a favorite at if the United States had competed) he had become "the greatest track & field athlete in the world" with wins in the 100 metres, long jump, and 4 × 100 metres relay at the inaugural 1983 world championships.

His teammate Larry Myricks, who would have been the favorite in 1980 but for the boycott and would likely have medaled in 1976 but for a broken foot in warmups, was a significant challenger, as was Gary Honey of Australia, the 1982 Commonwealth champion.

[2] Cameroon, Chad, the People's Republic of China, Cyprus, Kenya, Mali, Paraguay, and the United Arab Emirates each made their first appearance in the event; the Republic of China appeared for the first time as "Chinese Taipei".

The qualifying round gave each competitor three jumps to achieve a distance of 7.90 metres; if fewer than 12 men did so, the top 12 (including all those tied) would advance.