The men's coxed pair competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree near Ballarat, Australia, from 23 to 27 November.

[2] The event was won by the American crew, rowers Arthur Ayrault and Conn Findlay and coxswain Kurt Seiffert.

The United Team of Germany took silver in its debut (Karl-Heinrich von Groddeck, Horst Arndt, and cox Rainer Borkowsky).

The Soviet Union earned its first medal in the event, with Ihor Yemchuk, Heorhiy Zhylin, and Vladimir Petrov (cox) taking bronze.

Favorite status went to Karl-Heinrich von Groddeck, Horst Arndt, and cox Rainer Borkowsky from the United Team of Germany, the reigning European champions in the event.