| Date | 8 August 2016 — 23:10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Estádio Aquático Olímpico, Parque Olímpico da Barra, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro | |
| Format | Fastest 8 swimmers advanced to the final round. | |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Tamás Kenderesi |  HUN | 1:53.96 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Michael Phelps |  USA | 1:54.12 | |||
| 3 | 4 | László Cseh, Jr. | HUN | 1:55.18 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Chad le Clos |  RSA | 1:55.19 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Daiya Seto |  JPN | 1:55.28 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Masato Sakai | JPN | 1:55.32 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Viktor Bromer |  DEN | 1:55.59 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Louis Croenen |  BEL | 1:56.03 | |||
| 9 | 5 | Grant Irvine |  AUS | 1:56.07 | |||
| 10 | 2 | Quah Zheng Wen |  SGP | 1:56.11 | |||
| 11 | 7 | Yevgeny Koptelov |  RUS | 1:56.46 | |||
| 12 | 1 | Simon Sjödin |  SWE | 1:56.71 | |||
| 13 | 2 | Leonardo de Deus |  BRA | 1:56.77 | |||
| 14 | 7 | Kaio Márcio | BRA | 1:57.45 | |||
| 15 | 8 | Jonathan Gómez |  COL | 1:57.47 | |||
| 16 | 8 | Li Zhuhao |  CHN | 1:57.62 |
| Time | 23:10 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | László Cseh, Jr. | HUN | 1:55.18 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Daiya Seto | JPN | 1:55.28 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Masato Sakai | JPN | 1:55.32 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Louis Croenen | BEL | 1:56.03 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Grant Irvine | AUS | 1:56.07 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Quah Zheng Wen | SGP | 1:56.11 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Kaio Márcio | BRA | 1:57.45 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Li Zhuhao | CHN | 1:57.62 |
| Time | 23:19 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Tamás Kenderesi | HUN | 1:53.96 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Michael Phelps | USA | 1:54.12 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Chad le Clos | RSA | 1:55.19 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Viktor Bromer | DEN | 1:55.59 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Yevgeny Koptelov | RUS | 1:56.46 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Simon Sjödin | SWE | 1:56.71 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Leonardo de Deus | BRA | 1:56.77 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Jonathan Gómez | COL | 1:57.47 |
