The event was won by Witold Woyda of Poland, the nation's second victory in the men's foil in three Games.

Jenő Kamuti of Hungary repeated as the silver medalist, the seventh man to win multiple medals in the event.

France took bronze for the third consecutive Games, this time with Christian Noël earning the honor.

Vasyl Stankovych of the Soviet Union was the reigning world champion; Friedrich Wessel of West Germany had won the previous two.

The 1972 format also eliminated the 8-fencer final pools of previous Games; for all rounds after the first, the number of fencers was set at 6.

The tie for bronze was determined on touch quotient, with Noël (1.000) winning it followed by Țiu (0.850) and Denisov (0.810).