Water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

The format of water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics: • Twelve teams are divided into two preliminary groups, composed of six teams each, and play a single round robin in each group. • The first placed team of each group will have a bye. The second and third placed teams will play against each other in a cross-group format. Losers go on to play a series of classification games. • The fifth and sixth placed teams from each group in the preliminary round play against each other in a cross-group format to determine who will play for places 9–12. These games make up part of the quarterfinal round. The fourth placed teams from each group have a bye in this round. The losers of the classification games in the quarterfinal round will play for places 11–12. The winners of the classification games in the quarterfinal round will play the fourth placed teams from each group to determine who will play for places 7–10. These games are part of the semifinal round. The losers of the classification 7–10 games will play each other for places 9–10. The winners will play for places 7–8. • Winners from the quarterfinal will progress to the semifinals and play against the first placed teams in each group of the preliminary round. Losers go on to play classification games. • Winners of the semifinals will contest the gold medal game and the losers the bronze medal game. ==Preliminary round==