Swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 200 metre individual medley

The men's 200 metre individual medley competition of the swimming events at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships took place July 27 and 28. The heats and semifinals took place July 27 and the final was held July 28.

The two main contenders for the event were the reigning World Champion and world record holder Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps, the reigning Olympic champion. The final was won by Lochte in a world record time 1:54.00, bettering his previous time of 1:54.10. Phelps finished in second place with a personal best time of 1:54.16. So emphatic was Lochte and Phelps performance, that third-place finisher László Cseh said, "The Americans are too good for me. Only Ryan can beat Michael, but I can improve myself and continue to swim faster."

Record
Prior to the competition, the existing world and championship record were as follows.

The following record was established during the competition:

Heats
47 swimmers participated in 6 heats.

Semifinals
The semifinals were held at 19:24.

Final
The final was held at 18:13.