The men's single sculls competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Australia.

[2] The event was won by Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's single sculls Ivanov's first of his three consecutive Olympic titles.

[3] Stuart Mackenzie took silver, making it the second consecutive Games with an Australian runner-up.

Kocerka, who had also won the European championships in 1955 and the Diamond Challenge Sculls in 1955 and 1956, was the favorite.

Great Britain made its 11th appearance, most among nations, having missed only the 1904 Games in St. Louis.