The men's horizontal bar competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 27, 29 and September 1 at the Olympiahalle. There were 113 competitors from 26 nations; nations entering the team event had 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. Japan reached the height of its success in the event this year, thoroughly dominating the event by taking the top five places (with the final Japanese gymnast placing 10th). Mitsuo Tsukahara was the winner, with Sawao Kato second and Shigeru Kasamatsu third. Japan had now won the event in four of the last five Games. The only finalist from outside Japan was Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union.