The nation unsuccessfully attempted to join the 1948 Summer Olympics in London amid the Indonesian War of Independence (1945–1949).

[4] Maram Sudarmodjo was a former youth fighter in the War of Independence and a future lieutenant colonel in the country's air force.

[4] Previously he won a gold medal in the 1948 National Sports Week and a bronze medal in the 1951 Asian Games, both with the best jump of 1.89 m.[5] Thio Ging Hwie was the first ethnic Chinese Indonesian to participate in an international sports event.

[7] Two officials and one spectator was registered as part of the delegation, and six press passes were issued for the country.

The gold medal was won by Buddy Davis of the United States, with the best jump of 2.04 m.[4][9][10] The sole Indonesian swimmer, Habib Suharko, participated in men's 200 m breaststroke.

The gold medal was won by Tommy Kono of the United States, with lifts totaling 362.5 kilograms.