The men's 800 metres event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta was held between 28 and 31 July 1996.

[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.

Wilson Kipketer was the strongest 800 metres runner in 1996, having won the first of his three world championship titles in 1995; however, he was ruled ineligible for the Games during the process of changing his nationality from Kenya to Denmark.

[2] Burundi, the Czech Republic, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, and Latvia appeared in the event for the first time.

Great Britain made its 22nd appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.