Sailing at the 1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Olympic yachting program was exactly the same as it had been in 1960-64, the only time this has occurred at three consecutive Olympics. There were five events, all for mixed classes. The 5.5-metre class was held for the last time, after having been on the program since 1952. With Ciudad de México quite inland, the events were held 380 km (240 miles) from the city, at Acapulco Bay, adjacent to the town of Acapulco de Juárez, usually called simply Acapulco.

A new scoring system was introduced in 1968, which was used through the 1992 Olympics. The system was a modified point-for-place scoring system in each race, although it would later be changed to a pure point-for-place system. The best six of seven race scores counted towards the final total. To break ties, the total of all seven race scores were used. If a boat did not finish, was disqualified, or did not start a race, it was awarded points equal to the number of boats entered in the event, or the highest score possible. There were again seven races in every class.

Twelve (12) nations won medals in 1968 yachting, the most ever at the Olympics to that date. The United States won two classes, while Great Britain, Sweden, and the Soviet Union won the other events. Great Britain, Italy, and the United States all won two medals to lead that list.