These are the official results of the men's shot put event at the 1987 IAAF World Championships in Rome, Italy. There were a total number of 21 participating athletes, with the final held on 29 August 1987.
| Gold | Werner Günthör Switzerland (SUI) | |
| Silver |  Alessandro AndreiItaly (ITA) | |
| Bronze |  John BrennerUnited States (USA) |
| Qualification Round | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Group B | |
| 29.08.1987 - ??:??h | 29.08.1987 - ??:??h | |
| Final Round | ||
| 29.08.1987 - 18:10h | ||
| Q | automatic qualification | |
| q | qualification by rank | |
| DNS | did not start | |
| NM | no mark | |
| WR | world record | |
| AR | area record | |
| NR | national record | |
| PB | personal best | |
| SB | season best |
| Standing records prior to the 1987 World Athletics Championships | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22.91 m | August 12, 1987 | |||
| 21.39 m | August 7, 1983 | |||
| Broken records during the 1987 World Athletics Championships | ||||
| 21.57 m | August 29, 1987 | |||
| 21.63 m | ||||
| 21.75 m | ||||
| 22.12 m | ||||
| 22.23 m | ||||
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21.57 m | |||
| 2 | 21.11 m | |||
| 3 | 20.99 m | |||
| 4 | 20.66 m | |||
| 5 | 19.73 m | |||
| 6 | 19.69 m | |||
| 7 | 19.62 m | |||
| 8 | 19.43 m | |||
| 9 | 19.34 m | |||
| 10 | 19.05 m | |||
| — |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20.95 m | |||
| 2 | 20.28 m | |||
| 3 | 20.27 m | |||
| 4 | 19.96 m | |||
| 5 | 19.96 m | |||
| 6 | 19.76 m | |||
| 7 | 19.10 m | |||
| 8 | 18.36 m | |||
| 9 | 17.25 m | |||
| — | DNS |
| RANK | FINAL | DISTANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22.23 m CR | |||
| 21.88 m | |||
| 21.75 m | |||
| 4. | 21.39 m | ||
| 5. | 21.35 m | ||
| 6. | 21.13 m | ||
| 7. | 20.41 m | ||
| 8. | 20.15 m | ||
| 9. | 19.98 m | ||
| 10. | 19.71 m | ||
| 11. | 19.22 m | ||
| 12. | 19.15 m |