Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres
The 500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics program. The competition was held on naturally frozen ice on the Lake Misurina. It was held on Saturday, 28 January 1956, and started at noon and ended at 1:15 PM. Forty-seven speed skaters from 17 nations competed.
Medalists
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1956 Winter Olympics.| World record | 40.2' |  Yevgeny Grishin | Cortina d'Ampezzo/Lake Misurina | 22 January 1956 |
| Olympic record | 43.1 |  Finn Helgesen | St. Moritz | 31 January 1948 |
' The record was set in a high altitude venue and on naturally frozen ice.
Yevgeny Grishin equalized his own world record.
Results
set a new world record only six days before this event on the same venue. He equalized his world record time and won the gold medal.| Place | Speed skater | Time |
| 1 | 40.2 =WR | |
| 2 | 40.8 | |
| 3 | 41.0 | |
| 4 | 41.1 | |
| 5 | 41.7 | |
| 6 | 41.8 | |
| 7 | 41.9 | |
| 7 | 41.9 | |
| 9 | 42.2 | |
| 9 | 42.2 | |
| 11 | 42.4 | |
| 11 | 42.4 | |
| 13 | 42.5 | |
| 13 | 42.5 | |
| 15 | 42.6 | |
| 16 | 42.7 | |
| 17 | 42.8 | |
| 17 | 42.8 | |
| 17 | 42.8 | |
| 17 | 42.8 | |
| 21 | 42.9 | |
| 22 | 43.1 | |
| 22 | 43.1 | |
| 22 | 43.1 | |
| 25 | 43.2 | |
| 25 | 43.2 | |
| 25 | 43.2 | |
| 28 | 43.5 | |
| 28 | 43.5 | |
| 30 | 43.6 | |
| 30 | 43.6 | |
| 32 | 43.8 | |
| 33 | 43.9 | |
| 34 | 44.0 | |
| 34 | 44.0 | |
| 36 | 44.1 | |
| 37 | 44.2 | |
| 37 | 44.2 | |
| 37 | 44.2 | |
| 40 | 44.3 | |
| 41 | 44.4 | |
| 42 | 44.7 | |
| 43 | 44.9 | |
| 44 | 45.2 | |
| 45 | 45.9 | |
| — | DNF | |
| — | DNF |
Johnny Sands and Yuri Mikhaylov did not finish after a fall.