The men's 5000 metres event at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Sydney, Australia, at International Athletic Centre on 23 and 25 August.
| Gold | Assefa Mezegebu | |
| Silver | David Chelule | |
| Bronze | Aaron Gabonewe |
25 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 13:35.30 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 13:36.27 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | 13:46.19 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 13:46.59 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 13:52.51 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 13:55.92 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 14:06.59 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 14:07.93 | ||||
| 9 | align=left | align=left |  | 14:08.35 | |||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | 14:12.13 | ||||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | | 14:24.18 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left | 14:50.14 | ||||
| align=left | align=left |  | DNS | ||||
| align=left | align=left |  | DNS | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | DNS |
23 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 14:07.15 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 14:07.22 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 14:07.27 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 14:07.66 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 14:13.20 | Q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 14:13.45 | q | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 14:14.48 | q | ||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 14:21.97 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | | 14:22.37 | |||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | | 14:25.34 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left |  | 14:30.99 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left | 15:39.16 | ||||
| 13 | align=left | align=left | 15:43.01 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | DNF |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 14:05.00 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 14:05.80 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 14:06.16 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 14:06.57 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 14:08.34 | Q | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 14:09.52 | q | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 14:09.65 | q | ||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 14:09.77 | q | ||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | | 14:16.08 | |||
| 10 | align=left | align=left |  | 14:17.21 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left |  | 14:53.60 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left |  | 15:25.46 | |||
| 13 | align=left | align=left | 16:12.57 |
According to an unofficial count, 27 athletes from 19 countries participated in the event.