The individual show jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 2000 Summer Olympics, was held from 25 September to 1 October 2000 at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre 45 miles outside of Sydney, Australia.

Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division.

Khaled Al Eid earned Saudi Arabia's first medal in the event with his bronze, finishing third in the jump-off.

[2] Seven of the top 10 riders from the 1996 Games returned: silver medalist Wilhelm Melliger of Switzerland, bronze medalist Alexandra Ledermann of France, sixth-place finisher Geoff Billington of Great Britain, seventh-place finisher Jan Tops of the Netherlands (who had also finished in the top 10 in 1988 and 1992), eighth-place finisher Álvaro de Miranda Neto of Brazil, and ninth-place finishers Rodrigo de Paula Pessoa of Brazil and John Whitaker of Great Britain.

1992 Olympic gold medalist Ludger Beerbaum of Germany also returned.

Pessoa was also the reigning World Champion and had finished in the top 10 at the 1992 Games; he was the favorite in Sydney.

The one significant change from the previous Games was that the number of pairs advancing to the final increased from 25 to 45 but a mid-final cut was reintroduced, with only 20 pairs competing in the second half of the final.