The modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place in 2021 at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza and Ajinomoto Stadium.

Modern pentathlon contains five events; pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200.0 metres (656.2 ft) freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3.200 kilometres (1.988 mi) cross-country run.

Following the show jumping in Tokyo concerns were raised regarding the poor horsemanship of some of the competitors and the ethics of this section of the competition; resulting in Modern Pentathlon's governing body promising a review.

Competitors must hit five targets, or have 50 seconds elapse, before they can move to the next leg of the run; there is no additional penalty for missed shots.

[5] Between February and August 2019, the initial distribution of quotas to the athletes has taken place based on the competition results.