The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2010 Asian Games took place on 17 November 2010 at Guangzhou Aoti Aquatics Centre. There were 41 competitors from 26 countries who took part in this events. Six heats were held, with most containing the maximum number of swimmers (eight). The heat in which a swimmer competed did not formally matter for advancement, as the swimmers with the top eight times from the entire field qualified for the finals. Park Tae-hwan from South Korea won the gold medal with 48.70 seconds.