Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke

The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2004 Olympic Games was contested at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece on August 18 and 19.

U.S. swimmer Aaron Peirsol won a gold medal in this event, with an Olympic record time of 1:54.95. Markus Rogan added another silver for Austria in the same stroke, in an outstanding time of 1:57.35. Romania's Răzvan Florea, who finished behind Rogan by 0.21 of a second, earned a bronze in 1:57.56. Peirsol became the fifth swimmer and fourth American in Olympic history to claim titles in two backstroke events.

In the final, Peirsol won the race but was disqualified for a noncontinuous backstroke turn (in backstroke, a swimmer is allowed to rotate onto his/her stomach going into a turn, as long as 1) only one arm pull occurs while the swimmer is on his/her stomach and 2) the turn is one smooth motion ). Peirsol's disqualification was appealed, and overturned, reinstating his time and finish. The British team have announced their intention to appeal to a higher body in an attempt to get their fourth-place swimmer James Goddard for a bronze medal.