The men's discus throw event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 16–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium.

[2] The event was won by Gerd Kanter of Estonia, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw.

The returning finalists from the 2004 Games were two-time gold medalist (and 1996 finalist) Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, silver medalist Zoltán Kővágó of Hungary, bronze medalist (and 2000 finalist) Aleksander Tammert of Estonia, fifth-place finisher Frantz Kruger of South Africa, sixth-place finisher Casey Malone of the United States, eleventh-place finisher Gabor Mate of Hungary, and Róbert Fazekas (also of Hungary), who had initially won in 2004 but had been disqualified for doping.

NOCs were also permitted to enter one athlete providing he had met the B standard in the same qualifying period.

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