Men's 4 × 400 metres relay world record progression
The first world record in the 4 x 400 metres for men was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912.
The IAAF's first record in the event was for a mark set the year before the organization's formation.
To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 15 world records in the event.
The following table shows the world record progression in the men's 4 x 400 metre relay, as ratified by the IAAF. "y" denotes time for 4 x 440 yards, ratified as a record for this event.
Records 1912–present
| Time | Auto | Team | Nationality | Location of race | Date | Participants |
| 3:18.2y | Irish-American AC | New York City, USA | 1911-09-04 | Harry Schaaf, Mel Sheppard, Harry Gissing, James Rosenberger | ||
| 3:16.6 | United States | Stockholm, Sweden | 1912-06-15 | Mel Sheppard, Charles Reidpath, Ted Meredith, Edward Lindberg | ||
| 3:16.0 | United States | Paris, France | 1924-07-13 | Commodore Cochran, Alan Helffrich, Oliver MacDonald, William Stevenson | ||
| 3:14.2 | United States | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 1928-08-05 | George Baird, Emerson Spencer, Fred Alderman, Ray Barbuti | ||
| 3:13.4y | United States | London, UK | 1928-08-11 | George Baird, Morgan Taylor, Ray Barbuti, Emerson Spencer | ||
| 3:12.6y | Stanford University | Fresno, USA | 1931-05-08 | Maynor Shore, Alvin Hables, Leslie Hables, Ben Eastman | ||
| 3:08.2 | 3:08.14 | United States | Los Angeles, USA | 1932-08-07 | Ivan Fuqua, Ed Ablowich, Karl Warner, Bill Carr | |
| 3:03.9 | 3:04.04 | Jamaica | Helsinki, Finland | 1952-07-27 | Arthur Wint, Leslie Laing, Herb McKenley, George Rhoden | |
| 3:02.2 | 3:02.37 | United States | Rome, Italy | 1960-09-08 | Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, Otis Davis | |
| 3:00.7 | United States | Tokyo, Japan | 1964-10-21 | Ollan Cassell, Mike Larrabee, Ulis Williams, Henry Carr | ||
| 2:59.6 | United States | Los Angeles, USA | 1966-07-24 | Robert Frey, Lee Evans, Tommie Smith, Theron Lewis | ||
| 2:56.2 | 2:56.16 | United States | Mexico City, Mexico | 1968-10-20 | Vincent Matthews, Ron Freeman, Larry James, Lee Evans | |
| 2:56.16 | - | United States | Seoul, South Korea | 1988-10-01 | Danny Everett, Steve Lewis, Kevin Robinzine, Butch Reynolds | |
| 2:55.74 | - | United States | Barcelona, Spain | 1992-08-08 | Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Michael Johnson, Steve Lewis | |
| 2:54.29 | - | United States | Stuttgart, Germany | 1993-08-22 | Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Butch Reynolds, Michael Johnson | |
| 2:54.20 | - | United States | Uniondale, New York | 1998-07-22 | Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, Tyree Washington, Michael Johnson |