The men's ISSF 50 meter pistol event at the 2012 Olympic Games took place on 5 August 2012 at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

[1] The event was won by Jin Jong-oh of South Korea, the second of his three consecutive victories in the free pistol.

He was the first (and, since the event has been discontinued, the only) shooter to win two individual free pistol gold medals.

The 2010 world championship podium was Tomoyuki Matsuda of Japan, Lee Dae-myung of South Korea, and Vyacheslav Podlesnyy of Kazakhstan; Matsuda and Podlesnyy competed in London but the South Korean pair was Jin and Choi Young-rae.

The United States made its 21st appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the 1900 event and the boycotted 1980 Games.

To compete, a shooter needed a quota spot and to achieve a Minimum Qualification Score (MQS).

There were also 2 re-allocated places and 18 double starters (primarily from the 10 metre air pistol event).