The Republic of China (Taiwan) competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich for the last time at a Summer Olympics as the "Republic of China". The ROC would not return to the Summer Olympics until 1984 and under the name "Chinese Taipei" due to objections by the People's Republic of China over the political status of Taiwan.
The PRC, amid the height of the Cultural Revolution, boycotted the Olympics due to the ROC participation under the name "Republic of China". 21 competitors, 15 men and 6 women, took part in 41 events in 10 sports.
Archery
In the first modern archery competition at the Olympics, the Republic of China entered only one woman.
Women's:
- Shue Meei-Shya - 2026 points (38th place)
Athletics
Track events
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |Athlete
! rowspan="2" |Event
! colspan="2" |Round 1
! colspan="2" |Quarterfinal
! colspan="2" |Semifinal
! colspan="2" |Final
|- style="font-size:95%"
!Result
!Rank
!Result
!Rank
!Result
!Rank
!Result
!Rank
|-
| align="left" |Su Wen-Ho
| align="left" |Men's 100 m
|10.8
|7 (h5)
| colspan="6" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Su Wen-Ho
| align="left" |Men's 200 m
|21.55
|5 (h5)
|21.47
|5 (h5)
| colspan="4" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Lee Chung-Ping
| align="left" |Men's 110 m hurdles
|14.98
|6 (h4)
| colspan="6" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Lee Chung-Ping
| align="left" |Men's 400 m hurdles
|52.61
|6 (h3)
| colspan="6" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Lee Chung-Ping, Su Wen-Ho, Chen Chin-Lung, Chen Ming-Chih
| align="left" |Men's 4 × 100 m relay
|41.78
|7 (h2)
| colspan="6" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Lee Chiu-Hsia
| align="left" |Women's 800 m
|2:11.8
|8 (h4)
| colspan="6" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Lee Chiu-Hsia
| align="left" |Women's 1500 m
|4:37.2
|9 (h1)
| colspan="6" |Did not advance
|}
Field events
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |Athlete
! rowspan="2" |Event
! colspan="2" |Qualification
! colspan="2" |Final
|- style="font-size:95%"
!Result
!Rank
!Result
!Rank
|-
| align="left" |Chen Chin-Lung
| align="left" |Men's long jump
|6.79 m
|—
| colspan="2" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Chen Ming-Chih
| align="left" |Men's triple jump
|14.73 m
|—
| colspan="2" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Wu Yu-Chih
| align="left" |Women's high jump
|0.00 m
|—
| colspan="2" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Lin Chun-Yu
| align="left" |Women's long jump
|5.50 m
|—
| colspan="2" |Did not advance
|-
| align="left" |Lin Chun-Yu
| align="left" |Women's pentathlon
| colspan="2" |3676 points
| colspan="2" |28th place
|}
Note: Chi Cheng was listed as an alternate member for the athletics team but did not compete in any events.
Boxing
Bantamweight:
- Wang Chee-Yen
:# 1/16-Final - defeated Manoochehr Bahmani of Iran (3 - 2)
:# 1/8-Final - lost to George Turpin of Great Britain
Cycling
One cyclist represented the Republic of China in 1972.
;Individual road race
- Shue Ming-fa — did not finish (→ no ranking)
;1000m time trial
- Shue Ming-fa — 1:14.05 (→ 27th place)
;Sprint
- Shue Ming-fa
:# Preliminary Round — lost to Sergei Kravtsov of Soviet Union and Taworn Tarwan of Thailand
:# Preliminary Round, repêchage — Lost to Yoshikazu Cho of Japan and Felix Suarez of Spain
Judo
Lightweight:
- Cheng Chi-Hsiang
:# Pool A - lost to Takao Kawaguchi of Japan
:# Repêchage Pool - defeated Han Sung-Chul of South Korea
:# Repêchage Pool - lost to Bakhaavaa Buidaa of Mongolia
Welterweight:
- Wang Jong-She
:# Pool A - defeated William McGregor of Canada
:# Pool A - lost to Toyokazu Nomura of Japan
:# Repêchage Pool - lost to Antal Hetényi of Hungary
Middleweight:
- Chang Ping-Ho
:# Pool A - defeated Raymond Coulibaly of Mali
:# Pool A - lost to Jean-Paul Coche of France
Light heavyweight:
- Juang Jen-Wuh
:# Pool B - defeated Epigmenio Exiga of Mexico
:# Pool B - lost to Chiaki Ishii of Brazil
Open Category:
- Juang Jen-Wuh
:# Pool A - lost to Pavle Bajetić of Yugoslavia
Sailing
Finn:
- Chen Shiu-Hsiung - 235.0 (35th place)
Shooting
One male shooter represented Taiwan in 1972.
;300 m rifle, three positions
- Wu Tao-yan - 1085 points (30th place)
;50 m rifle, three positions
- Wu Tao-yan - 1101 points (51st place)
;50 m rifle, prone
- Wu Tao-yan - 591 points (41st place)
Swimming
Women's 100 m freestyle:
- Hsu Yue-Yun - Heat: 1:04.77 (did not advance)
Women's 200 m freestyle:
- Hsu Yue-Yun - Heat: 2:20.17 (did not advance)
Women's 400 m freestyle:
- Hsu Yue-Yun - Heat: 4:58.57 (did not advance)
Women's400 m individual medley:
- Hsu Yue-Yun - did not compete
Women's 100 m breaststroke
- Lie Yue-Hwan - 1:25.47 (did not advance)
Women's 200 m breaststroke
- Lie Yue-Hwan - 3:04.74 (did not advance)
Men's 100 m butterfly:
- Hsu Tung-Hsiung - did not compete
Men's 200 m butterfly:
- Hsu Tung-Hsiung - 2:16,35
Men's 200 m individual medley:
- Hsu Tung-Hsiung - 2:18.34 (did not advance)
Men's 400 m individual medley:
- Hsu Tung-Hsiung - 5:09.56 (did not advance)
Weightlifting
Featherweight:
- Chen Kue-Sen - 327.5 kg (10th place)
Wrestling
Freestyle –57 kg:
- Sheu Jine-Shiong
:# Round 1 - lost to Nicolae Dumitru of Romania (4 - 0)
:# Round 2 - lost to George Hatziioannidis of Greece (4 - 0)