The Men's singles table tennis event was a part of the Table Tennis program and took place at the Peking University Gymnasium. The tournament started on August 19 and the finals took place on August 23.

Table tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 13 to August 23, at the Peking University Gymnasium. The competition featured the team events for the first time, replacing the doubles events competed in previous games. A total of four sets of medals were awarded for the four events contested. China, as the host country, would win every medal possible, claiming the podium in both the Men's and Women's Singles events and claiming Gold in both the Men's and Women's Team Event, leading the IOC and ITTF, to change the qualification process for the 2012 Summer Olympics, to ensure that countries could only enter 2, instead of 3 athletes into the Singles event.