The following table shows the world record progression in the men's 20 kilometres race walk , as recognised by the IAAF. Notice that the records for road walk and track walk are considered separately. [1]
| Ratified | |
| Not ratified | |
| Ratified but later rescinded | |
| Pending ratification |
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:38:43 | 1911-10-04 | Berlin, Germany | |
| 1:37:57 | 1913-07-13 | Paris, France | |
| 1:34:15 | 1933-08-13 | Český Brod, Czechoslovakia | |
| 1:33:25 | 1936-06-07 | Fürstenwalde, Germany | |
| 1:32:12 | 1937-05-30 | Malmö, Sweden | |
| 1:31:44 | 1946-06-10 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 1:31:21 | 1955-06-05 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | |
| 1:30:36 | 1955-09-23 | Kiev, Soviet Union | |
| 1:30:00 | 1956-07-25 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | |
| 1:28:39 | 1957-04-13 | Kiev, Soviet Union | |
| 1:27:29 | 1959-07-07 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |
| 1:27:04 | 1959-07-15 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |
| 1:25:58 | 1959-09-06 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |
| 1:25:22 | 1968-07-21 | Leningrad, Soviet Union | |
| 1:25:19 | 1972-05-07 | Berlin, Germany | |
| 1:24:50 | 1972-07-30 | Munich, Germany | |
| 1:23:40 | 1976-05-30 | Bydgoszcz, Poland | |
| 1:23:30 | 1978-07-19 | Vilnius, Soviet Union | |
| 1:23:12 | 1978-08-30 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | |
| 1:22:19 | 1979-05-13 | Klaipėda, Soviet Union | |
| 1:22:16 | 1979-05-19 | Valencia, Spain | |
| 1:21:04 | 1979-06-09 | Vretstorp, Sweden | |
| 1:21:01 | 1979-06-09 | Raisio, Finland | |
| 1:21:00 | 1980-03-30 | Xalapa, Mexico | |
| 1:19:35 | 1980-04-27 | Cherkasy, Soviet Union | |
| 1:19:30 | 1983-09-24 | Bergen, Norway | |
| 1:19:24 | 1987-05-03 | New York City, United States | |
| 1:19:12 | 1987-06-21 | Karl-Marx-Stadt, GDR | |
| 1:19:08 | 1988-07-30 | Kiev, Soviet Union | |
| 1:18:20 | 1990-05-26 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |
| 1:18:13 | 1990-09-16 | Hildesheim, West Germany | |
| 1:18:04 | 1994-04-07 | Beijing, PR China | |
| 1:17:46 | 1999-05-08 | Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany | |
| 1:17:22 | 2002-04-28 | Turku, Finland | |
| 1:17:21 | 2003-08-23 | Paris, France | |
| 1:17:16 | 2007-09-29 | Saransk, Russia | |
| 1:17:02 | 2015-03-08 | Arles, France | |
| 1:16:36 | 2015-03-15 | Nomi, Japan | |
| 1:16:10 | 2025-02-16 | Kobe, Japan |