Water polo at the 1986 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament
The 1986 Men's World Water Polo Championship was the fifth edition of the men's water polo tournament at the World Aquatics Championships, organised by the world governing body in aquatics, the FINA. The tournament was held from 13 to 23 August 1986, and was incorporated into the 1986 World Aquatics Championships in Madrid, Spain.
This was the only men's world championship to have featured fifteen teams instead of the usual sixteen. Yugoslavia won its first title by defeating Italy in the final. The Soviet Union, the defending champion, came third.First stage
| # | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pt |
| 1 |  Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 15 | 3 |
| 2 |  Cuba | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 21 | 3 |
| 3 |  Australia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 24 | 0 |
| # | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pt |
| 1 |  United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 17 | 6 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 27 | 4 |
| 3 |  Brazil | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 40 | 1 |
| 4 |  Greece | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 34 | 1 |
Second Stage
| # | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pt |
| 1 | United States | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 23 | 5 |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 22 | 4 |
| 3 |  West Germany | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 23 | 2 |
| 4 |  France | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 29 | 0 |
Semifinals
Bronze match
Final
Final ranking
Team rosters
, Perica Bukić, Veselin Đuho, Milorad Krivokapić, Deni Lušić, Igor Milanović, Tomislav Paškvalin, Zoran Petrović, Andrija Popović, Dubravko Šimenc, Aleksandar Šoštar, Anto Vasović, Mirko Vičević. Head Coach: Ratko Rudić
