The event was won by Ion Drîmbă of Romania, the nation's first medal in the men's foil.

Daniel Revenu of France repeated as the bronze medalist, the sixth man to win multiple medals in the event.

The Soviet team included the last two world champions: German Sveshnikov and Viktor Putyatin.

[2] Lebanon, Paraguay, and Puerto Rico each made their debut in the men's foil; West Germany competed separately for the first time.

The United States made its 14th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the inaugural 1896 competition.