The following table shows the World Record Progression in the Men's 50 km Walk, as recognised by the IAAF.[1]
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:40:15 | 1921-09-07 | Munich, Germany | ||
| 4:36:22 | 1924-09-24 | Berlin, Germany | ||
| 4:34:03 | 1924-10-05 | Munich, Germany | ||
| 4:30:22 | 1928-09-16 | Rome, Italy | ||
| 4:26:41 | 1936-06-28 | Oslo, Norway | ||
| 4:24:47 | 1941-08-17 | Odense, Denmark | ||
| 4:23:40 | 1946-08-04 | Poděbrady, Czechoslovakia | ||
| 4:23:14 | 1952-08-24 | Poděbrady, Czechoslovakia | ||
| 4:20:30 | 1952-08-29 | Leningrad, Soviet Union | ||
| 4:16:06 | 1954-09-12 | Poděbrady, Czechoslovakia | ||
| 4:07:29 | 1955-11-17 | Tbilisi, Soviet Union | ||
| 4:05:13 | 1956-08-10 | Moscow, Soviet Union | ||
| 4:03:53 | 1959-08-13 | Moscow, Soviet Union | ||
| 4:03:02 | 1960-10-16 | Ponte San Pietro, Italy | ||
| 4:01:39 | 1961-08-17 | Leningrad, Soviet Union | ||
| 4:00:50 | 1961-09-05 | Kazan, Soviet Union | ||
| 3:55:36 | 1965-10-17 | Alma Ata, Soviet Union | ||
| 3:52:45 | 1972-05-27 | Bremen, West Germany | ||
| 3:45:52 | 1978-04-23 | Mixhuca, Mexico | ||
| 3:41:20 | 1978-06-11 | Poděbrady, Czechoslovakia | ||
| 3:40:46 | 1983-03-13 | Valencia, Spain | ||
| 3:38:31 | 1984-07-20 | Berlin, East Germany | ||
| 3:38:17 | 1986-05-25 | Potsdam, East Germany | ||
| 3:37:41 | 1989-08-05 | Leningrad, Soviet Union | ||
| 3:37:26 | 2000-05-21 | Moscow, Russia | ||
| 3:36:39 | 2002-08-08 | Munich, Germany | ||
| 3:36:03 | 2003-08-27 | Paris, France | ||
| 3:35:47 | 2006-12-02 | Geelong, Australia | ||
| 3:34:14 | 2008-05-11 | Cheboksary, Russia | ||
| 3:32:33 | 2014-08-15 | Zürich, Switzerland |
The 3:35:29 by Russia's Denis Nizhegorodov set in Cheboksary on June 13, 2004 was not ratified by the IAAF as a World Record because no EPO test was carried out afterwards.