The marathon at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July on a course running from the Helsinki Olympic Stadium to Korso, Helsinki Rural Municipality and back. Sixty-six athletes from 32 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at three since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The winning margin was 2 minutes 31.8 seconds.

Australia competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 81 competitors, 71 men and 10 women, took part in 67 events in 12 sports. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Melbourne, an Australian segment was performed at the closing ceremony.