The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July at the Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center in Atlanta, United States.

The event was won by Brad Bridgewater of the United States, with his countryman Tripp Schwenk taking silver.

Italy earned its second consecutive bronze medal in the men's 200 metre backstroke, with Emanuele Merisi taking the honours this time.

[2] Four of the 8 finalists from the 1992 Games returned: gold medalist Martín López-Zubero of Spain, silver medalist Vladimir Selkov of the Unified Team (now competing for Russia), fourth-place finisher Hajime Itoi of Japan, and fifth-place finisher Tripp Schwenk of the United States.

Sharp did not compete in Atlanta; the American team consisted of Schwenk and Brad Bridgewater.

[2] Barbados, Chile, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Slovakia, and Thailand each made their debut in the event.

Australia and Great Britain each made their ninth appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.