The Men's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games was held on 3 and 4 August at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Prior to this competition, the existing world record was as follows; The following records were established during the competition: The 16 fastest swimmers in the heats qualified for the semifinals.

[1] The eight fastest swimmers from the semifinals progressed to the final.

[2] The final was held on 4 August at 17:30.

[3]