Malaysia, however, did not participate at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, because of its partial support to the United States boycott.

Nine Malaysian athletes had previously competed in Sydney, including badminton tandem Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah, race walker Yuan Yufang, and US-based swimmers Alex Lim and Allen Ong.

Being the youngest ever athlete of the team, fourteen-year-old diver Bryan Nickson Lomas was appointed by the council to become the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

Malaysia failed to win a single Olympic medal for the second consecutive time since the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where badminton pair Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock claimed a silver in the men's doubles.

M = Medal race; OCS = On course side of the starting line; DSQ = Disqualified; DNF = Did not finish; DNS= Did not start; RDG = Redress given Two Malaysian shooters qualified to compete in the following events: Malaysian swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time): Malaysia has qualified a single taekwondo jin.