| | Event type
Heavyweight (>95 kilograms), Men
| Date | 1 October 1988 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Jang-chung Che-yuk-gwan, Seoul | |
| Participants | 26 from 26 countries | |
| Format | Two single-elimination pools, with winner of each pool advanced to the final. All judoka losing to the winner of each pool advanced to repêchage pools, with the winners of the repêchage pools earning bronze medals. | |
Japan had not yet won a gold medal in judo at Seoul. But the heavyweight favorite was Hitoshi Saito, who was expected to end the drought. Saito was the defending gold medalist and had been World Champion in 1983. Still, he had not won a major international since Los Angeles. Saito made it to the final against East German Henry Stöhr. The match was quite dull, with Saito winning by fewer passivity warnings, two to three. The two bronze medals were won by the last two World Champions, Grigory Verichev (URS-1987) and Jo Yong-Cheol (KOR-1985). Saito’s gold medal made him the second judoka to defend his Olympic title in Seoul, after Austria’s Peter Seisenbacher in the middleweight class. Prior to 1988, no judoka had defended an Olympic title.
Pool A (1 October 1988)
Round One (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Dimitar Zapryanov |  BUL | Koka (5:00) | Roger Vachon |  FRA |
| Match #2 | Hitoshi Saito |  JPN | Ippon (1:47) | Lansana Coly |  SEN |
| Match #3 | Mohamed Ali Rashwan |  EGY | bye | ||
| Match #4 | Jo Yong-Cheol |  KOR | Ippon (2:20) | Alexander von der Groeben |  FRG |
| Match #5 | Stefano Venturelli |  ITA | Ippon (2:04) | Boualem Miloudi |  ALG |
| Match #6 | Andrzej Basik |  POL | Koka (5:00) | Clemens Jehle |  SUI |
Quarter-Finals (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Hitoshi Saito | JPN | Ippon (4:58) | Dimitar Zapryanov | BUL |
| Match #2 | Mohamed Ali Rashwan | EGY | Ippon (1:54) | Sigurður Bergmann |  ISL |
| Match #3 | Jo Yong-Cheol | KOR | Waza-ari (5:00) | Stefano Venturelli | ITA |
| Match #4 | Andrzej Basik | POL | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon (1:41) | Helder de Carvalho |  ANG |
Semi-Finals (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Hitoshi Saito | JPN | Ippon (3:05) | Mohamed Ali Rashwan | EGY |
| Match #2 | Jo Yong-Cheol | KOR | Yuko (5:00) | Andrzej Basik | POL |
Final Round (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Hitoshi Saito | JPN | Chui (5:00) | Jo Yong-Cheol | KOR |
Repêchage (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Dimitar Zapryanov | BUL | Ippon (2:14) | Lansana Coly | SEN |
| Match #2 | Dimitar Zapryanov | BUL | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Mohamed Ali Rashwan | EGY |
| Match 3/4 | Jo Yong-Cheol | KOR | Shido (5:00) | Dimitar Zapryanov | BUL |
Pool B (1 October 1988)
Round One (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Juha Salonen |  FIN | Yuko (5:00) | Xu Guoqing |  CHN |
| Match #2 | Steven Cohen |  USA | Waza-ari (5:00) | Ricardo Blas |  GUM |
| Match #3 | Henry Stöhr |  GDR | Ippon (2:14) | Benjamin McMurray |  PHI |
| Match #4 | Grigory Verichev |  URS | Waza-ari (5:00) | Dragomir Kusmuk |  YUG |
| Match #5 | Frederico Flexa |  BRA | Ippon (3:45) | Abderrahim Lahcinia |  MAR |
Quarter-Finals (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Juha Salonen | FIN | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Steven Cohen | USA |
| Match #2 | Henry Stöhr | GDR | Ippon (0:48) | István Dubovszky |  HUN |
| Match #3 | Grigory Verichev | URS | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon (3:52) | Badmaanyambuugiin Bat-Erdene |  MGL |
| Match #4 | Frederico Flexa | BRA | Ippon (2:42) | Elvis Gordon |  GBR |
Semi-Finals (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Henry Stöhr | GDR | Ippon (0:42) | Juha Salonen | FIN |
| Match #2 | Grigory Verichev | URS | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Frederico Flexa | BRA |
Final Round (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | Henry Stöhr | GDR | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Grigory Verichev | URS |
Repêchage (1 October 1988)
| Match #1 | István Dubovszky | HUN | Ippon (1:41) | Benjamin McMurray | PHI |
| Match #2 | István Dubovszky | HUN | Chui (5:00) | Juha Salonen | FIN |
| Match 3/4 | Grigory Verichev | URS | Yuko (5:00) | István Dubovszky | HUN |
Final Round (1 October 1988)
| Match 1/2 | Hitoshi Saito | JPN | Keikoku (5:00) | Henry Stöhr | GDR |