O Oscar ó mellor documental é un premio que galardoa os mellores filmes documentais.

En 1942, había unha soa categoría de Documental, con vinte e cinco nomeados e catro gañadores.

• 1942 - Gañadores:
  • The Battle of Midway
  • Kokoda Front Line!
  • Moscow Strikes Back
  • Prelude to War
• Nomeados:
  • Africa, Prelude to Victory
  • Combat Report
  • Conquer by the Clock
  • The Grain That Built a Hemisphere
  • Henry Browne, Farmer
  • High Over the Borders
  • High Stakes in the East
  • Inside Fighting China
  • It's Everybody's War
  • Listen to Britain
  • Little Belgium
  • Little Isles of Freedom
  • Mr. Blabbermouth!
  • Mister Gardenia Jones
  • The New Spirit
  • The Price of Victory
  • A Ship Is Born
  • Twenty-One Miles
  • We Refuse to Die
  • The White Eagle
  • Winning Your Wings

Dende 1943, a categoría foi separada en dúas (documental e curta documental).

• 1943 - Desert Victory
  • Baptism of Fire
  • The Battle of Russia
  • Report from the Aleutians
  • War Department Report
• 1944 - The Fighting Lady
  • Resisting Enemy Interrogation
• 1945 - The True Glory
  • The Last Bomb
• 1946 - non entregado
• 1947 - Design for Death
  • Journey Into Medicine
  • The World Is Rich
• 1948 - The Secret Land
  • The Quiet One
• 1949 - Daybreak in Udi
  • Kenji Comes Home

• 1950 - The Titan: Story of Michelangelo
  • With These Hands
• 1951 - Kon-Tiki
  • I Was a Communist for the FBI
• 1952 - The Sea Around Us
  • The Hoaxters
  • Navajo
• 1953 - The Living Desert
  • The Conquest of Everest
  • A Queen Is Crowned
• 1954 - The Vanishing Prairie
  • The Stratford Adventure
• 1955 - Helen Keller in Her Story
  • Crèvecoeur
• 1956 - Le Monde du silence
  • Hvor bjergene sejler
  • The Naked Eye
• 1957 - Albert Schweitzer
  • On the Bowery
  • Torero
• 1958 - White Wilderness
  • Antarctic Crossing
  • The Hidden World
  • Psychiatric Nursing
• 1959 - Serengeti Shall Not Die
  • The Race for Space

• 1960 - The Horse with the Flying Tail
  • Rebel in Paradise
• 1961 - Sky Above and Mud Beneath, dirixido por Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau
  • La grande olimpiade, dirixido por Romolo Marcellini
• 1962 - Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
  • Alvorada-Hugo Niebeling
• 1963 - Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World
  • Le Maillon et la chaîne
  • The Yanks Are Coming
• 1964 - World Without Sun
  • 14-18
  • Alleman
  • The Finest Hours
  • Four Days in November
• 1965 - The Eleanor Roosevelt Story
  • The Battle of the Bulge... The Brave Rifles
  • The Forth Road Bridge
  • Let My People Go: The Story of Israel
  • Mourir à Madrid
• 1966 - The War Game
  • The Face of a Genius
  • Helicopter Canada
  • The Really Big Family
  • Le Volcan interdit
• 1967 - The Anderson Platoon
  • Festival
  • Harvest
  • A King's Story
  • A Time for Burning
• 1968 - Journey into Self
  • A Few Notes on Our Food Problem
  • Legendary Champions
  • Other Voices
• 1969 - Arthur Rubinstein – The Love of Life
  • Before the Mountain Was Moved
  • In the Year of the Pig
  • Olimpiada en México
  • The Wolf Men

• 1970 - Woodstock
  • Erinnerungen an die Zukunft
  • Jack Johnson
  • King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
  • Say Goodbye
• 1971 - The Hellstrom Chronicle
  • Alaska Wilderness Lake
  • Le chagrin et la pitié
  • On Any Sunday
  • Ra
• 1972 - Marjoe
  • Bij de beesten af
  • Malcolm X
  • Manson
  • The Silent Revolution
• 1973 - The Great American Cowboy
  • Always a New Beginning
  • Journey to the Outer Limits
  • Schlacht um Berlin
  • Walls of Fire
• 1974 - Hearts and Minds
  • Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman
  • The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
  • The 81st Blow
  • The Wild and the Brave
• 1975 - The Man Who Skied Down Everest
  • The California Reich
  • Fighting for Our Lives
  • The Incredible Machine
  • The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir
• 1976 - Harlan County, USA dirixido por Barbara Kopple
  • Hollywood on Trial
  • Off the Edge
  • People of the Wind
  • Volcano: An Inquiry Into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
• 1977 - Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?
  • The Children of Theatre Street
  • High Grass Circus
  • Homage to Chagall: The Colours of Love
  • Union Maids
• 1978 - Scared Straight!
  • Mysterious Castles of Clay
  • Raoni
  • Le vent des amoureux
  • With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade
• 1979 - Best Boy
  • Generation on the Wind
  • Going the Distance
  • The Killing Ground
  • The War at Home

• 1980 From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China dirixido por Murray Lerner
  • Agee
  • The Day After Trinity
  • Front Line
  • The Yellow Star – The Persecution of the Jews in Europe 1933-45
• 1981 Genocide dirixido por Arnold Schwartzman
  • Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey
  • Brooklyn Bridge
  • Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott
  • El Salvador: Another Vietnam
• 1982 Just Another Missing Kid dirixido por John Zaritsky
  • A Portrait of Giselle
  • After the Axe
  • Ben's Mill
  • In Our Water
• 1983 He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' dirixido por Emile Ardolino
  • Children of Darkness
  • First Contact
  • The Profession of Arms
  • Seeing Red
• 1984 The Times of Harvey Milk dirixido por Rob Epstein e Richard Schmiechen
  • High Schools
  • In the Name of the People
  • Marlene
  • Streetwise
• 1985 Broken Rainbow dirixido por Maria Florio e Victoria Mudd
  • The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
  • Soldiers in Hiding
  • The Statue of Liberty
  • Unfinished Business
• 1986: Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got e Down and Out in America
  • Chile: Hasta Cuando?
  • Isaac in America: A Journey with Isaac Bashevis Singer
  • Witness to Apartheid
• 1987 The Ten-Year Lunch
  • Eyes on the Prize
  • Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima
  • Radio Bikini
  • A Stitch for Time
• 1988 Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie
  • The Cry of Reason: Beyers Naude – An Afrikaner Speaks Out
  • Let's Get Lost
  • Promises to Keep
  • Who Killed Vincent Chin?
• 1989 Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt – Rob Epstein e Bill Couturié
  • Adam Clayton Powell – Richard Kilberg e Yvonne Smith
  • Crack USA: County Under Siege – Vince DiPersio e William Guttentag
  • For All Mankind – Al Reinert e Betsy Broyles Breier
  • Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren – Judith Leonard e Bill Jersey