The men's K-2 500 metres competition in canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing.
This would be the last time the event would take place at the Summer Olympics.
On 13 August 2009, it was announced by the International Canoe Federation that the men's 500 m events would be replaced by 200 m events at the 2012 Summer Olympics with one of them being K-1 200 m for the women.
[1] Competition consists of three rounds: the heats, the semifinals, and the final.
The top three finishers in the semifinal join the heats winners in the final.