The men's rope climbing event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

[2] All three medalists were from the host nation, as Americans Raymond Bass, William Galbraith, and Thomas F. Connolly took the honors (in that order).

The event was an unusual one, not one of the standard apparatus competitions held at the world championships.

The rope climbing event was judged on time, with the fastest to reach the top winning.

None of the apparatus events in 1932 were aggregated into the individual or team all-around scores, instead being entirely separate competitions.