The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place on September 2 at the Olympia Schwimmhalle.

[2] The podium was very similar to the previous Games in 1968, with Roland Matthes of East Germany winning gold and the United States taking the other two medals, including one going to Mitch Ivey.

The American team also included Mike Stamm, who had briefly held the world record in the event in 1970 before Matthes broke it in 1970 (and then bettered his own record in 1971 and at the East German Olympic trials in 1972).

[2] Brazil, Cambodia (then Khmer Republic), El Salvador, and Yugoslavia each made their debut in the event.

Mike Stamm broke the Olympic record with a time of 2:07.51 in the second heat.

Matthes's final time of 2:02.82 is considered equal to his prior world record of 2:02.8.