Pre-IAAF
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-IAAF ratified bests (prior to 1966) | ||||
| 6.6 |  Jesse Owens (USA) | 23 February 1935 | ||
| Ben Johnson (USA) | 23 February 1935 | |||
| 26 February 1938 | ||||
| Herbert Thompson (USA) | 25 February 1939 | |||
| Barney Ewell (USA) | 1942 | |||
The following table shows the world record progression in the men's indoor 60 metres , as recognised by the IAAF. The IAAF have officially ratified world indoor records since 1 January 1987; previous to this, they were regarded as world indoor bests.
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-IAAF ratified bests (prior to 1966) | ||||
| 6.6 | Jesse Owens (USA) | 23 February 1935 | ||
| Ben Johnson (USA) | 23 February 1935 | |||
| 26 February 1938 | ||||
| Herbert Thompson (USA) | 25 February 1939 | |||
| Barney Ewell (USA) | 1942 | |||
| Ratified | |
| Not ratified | |
| Ratified but later rescinded |
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAAF ratified bests (1966–1986) | ||||
| 6.6 |  Barrie Kelly (GBR) | 27 March 1966 | ||
| 6.6 [lower-alpha 1] | Barrie Kelly (GBR) | 27 March 1966 | ||
| 6.6 |  Heinz Erbstößer (GDR) | 27 March 1966 | Westfalenhalle, West Germany | |
| 6.6 |  Viktor Kassatkin (URS) | 27 March 1966 | Westfalenhalle, West Germany | |
| 6.6 | Valeriy Borzov (URS) | 14 March 1970 | Vienna, Austria | |
| 6.6 | Valeriy Borzov (URS) | 13 March 1971 | Sofia, Bulgaria | |
| 6.68 | Hans-Joachim Zenk (GDR) | 24 February 1973 | Senftenberg, East Germany | |
| 6.62 | Manfred Kokot (GDR) | 24 February 1973 | Senftenberg, East Germany | |
| 6.52 |  Zenon Nowosz (POL) | 25 February 1973 | Zabrze, Poland | |
| IAAF ratified records (1987– ) | ||||
| 6.50 |  Ben Johnson (CAN) [lower-alpha 2] | 15 January 1986 | Osaka, Japan | |
| 6.44 | Ben Johnson (CAN) | 15 January 1986 | Osaka, Japan | |
| 6.52 [lower-alpha 3] |  Marian Woronin (POL) | 21 February 1987 | Liévin, France | |
| 6.51 | Marian Woronin (POL) | 21 February 1987 | Liévin, France | |
| 6.41 | Ben Johnson (CAN) | 7 March 1987 | Indianapolis, United States | |
| 6.50 |  Lee McRae (USA) | 7 March 1987 | Indianapolis, United States | |
| 6.48 | Leroy Burrell (USA) | 13 February 1991 | Madrid, Spain | |
| 6.45 | Andre Cason (USA) | 29 January 1992 | Ghent, Belgium | |
| 6.41 | Andre Cason (USA) | 14 February 1992 | Madrid, Spain | |
| 6.41 | Maurice Greene (USA) | 1 February 1998 | Stuttgart, Germany | |
| 6.39 | Maurice Greene (USA) | 3 February 1998 | Madrid, Spain | |
| 6.39 | Maurice Greene (USA) | 3 March 2001 | Atlanta, United States | |
| 6.37 [lower-alpha 4] | Christian Coleman (USA) | 20 January 2018 | Clemson, United States [1] | |
| 6.34 | Christian Coleman (USA) | 18 February 2018 | Albuquerque, United States | |
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