| Host city | Havana, Cuba |
|---|---|
| Dates | 27 August-6 September 1972 |
The 1972 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Munich, West Germany from August 27 to September 6, 1972. There were 188 men in action from 54 nations.
This tournament was a part of 1972 Summer Olympics but counted as World Weightlifting Championships too. Only total medals counted for Olympic Games while Snatch and Clean & Jerk medals counted for the World Weightlifting Championships.
Ranking by Big (Total result) medals
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bulgaria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 |  Hungary | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 |  Poland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 |  Norway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 |  Iran | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Lebanon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 West Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 |  East Germany | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 |  Italy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (11 entries) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | |
Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Press, Snatch and Clean & Jerk)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 11 | 4 | 6 | 21 |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 7 | 5 | 4 | 16 |
| 3 | Hungary | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Poland | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | Norway | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | East Germany | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| West Germany | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |
| 8 |  Japan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 United States | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 10 |  Albania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Burma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Czechoslovakia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 North Korea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | Iran | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 |  Finland | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Lebanon | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 17 |  France | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 19 |  Greece | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 21 |  South Korea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (21 entries) | 36 | 36 | 36 | 108 | |
