The 1952 Academy Awards were presented March 19, 1953 at the RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, Calif and the NBC International Theatre, New York, N.Y.
| Best Motion Picture | The Greatest Show on Earth, Cecil B. DeMille, producer (Paramount) |
| High Noon, Stanley Kramer, producer (United Artists) |
| Ivanhoe, Pandro S. Berman, producer (MGM) |
| Moulin Rouge, John Huston, producer (United Artists) |
| The Quiet Man, John Ford and Merian C. Cooper, producers (Republic) |
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 The Greatest Show on Earth Archive Photos |
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| Best Actor | Marlon Brando, Viva Zapata! |
| Gary Cooper, High Noon |
| Kirk Douglas, The Bad and the Beautiful |
| José Ferrer, Moulin Rouge |
| Alec Guinness, The Lavender Hill Mob |
| Best Actress | Shirley Booth, Come Back, Little Sheba |
| Joan Crawford, Sudden Fear |
| Bette Davis, The Star |
| Julie Harris, The Member of the Wedding |
| Susan Hayward, With a Song in My Heart |
| Actor in a Supporting Role | Richard Burton, My Cousin Rachel |
| Arthur Hunnicutt, The Big Sky |
| Victor McLaglen, The Quiet Man |
| Jack Palance, Sudden Fear |
| Anthony Quinn, Viva Zapata! |
| Actress in a Supporting Role | Gloria Grahame, The Bad and the Beautiful |
| Jean Hagen, Singin'in the Rain |
| Colette Marchand, Moulin Rouge |
| Terry Moore, Come Back, Little Sheba |
| Thelma Ritter, With a Song in My Heart |
| Directing | Cecil B. DeMille, The Greatest Show on Earth |
| John Ford, The Quiet Man |
| John Huston, Moulin Rouge |
| Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Five Fingers |
| Fred Zinnemann, High Noon |
| Writing | | Motion Picture Story | Edna Anhalt and Edward Anhalt, The Sniper | | Frederic M. Frank, Theodore St. John and Frank Cavett, The Greatest Show on Earth | | Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard, The Narrow Margin | | Leo McCarey, My Son John | | Guy Trosper, The Pride of St. Louis | | Screenplay | Carl Foreman, High Noon | | Roger MacDougall, John Dighton and Alexander Mackendrick, The Man in the White Suit | | Frank S. Nugent, The Quiet Man | | Charles Schnee, The Bad and the Beautiful | | Michael Wilson, Five Fingers | | Story and Screenplay | Sydney Boehm, The Atomic City | | T.E.B. Clarke, The Lavender Hill Mob | | Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Pat and Mike | | Terence Rattigan, Breaking the Sound Barrier | | John Steinbeck, Viva Zapata! |
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| Cinematography | | Black-and-White | Russell Harlan, The Big Sky | | Charles B. Lang, Jr., Sudden Fear | | Joseph LaShelle, My Cousin Rachel | | Virgil E. Miller, Navajo | | Robert Surtees, The Bad and the Beautiful | | Color | George J. Folsey, Million Dollar Mermaid | | Winton C. Hoch and Archie Stout, The Quiet Man | | Leon Shamroy, The Snows of Kilimanjaro | | Harry Stradling, Hans Christian Andersen | | F.A. Young, Ivanhoe |
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| Art Direction | | Black-and-White | Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno, art direction; Edwin B. Willis and Keogh Gleason, set decoration, The Bad and the Beautiful | | Matsuyama, art direction; H. Motsumoto, set decoration, Rashomon | | Hal Pereira and Roland Anderson, art direction; Emile Kuri, set decoration, Carrie | | Lyle Wheeler and John DeCuir, art direction; Walter M. Scott, set decoration, My Cousin Rachel | | Lyle Wheeler and Leland Fuller, art direction; Thomas Little and Claude Carpenter, set decoration, Viva Zapata! | | Color | Richard Day and Clave, art direction; Howard Bristol, set decoration, Hans Christian Andersen | | Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse, art direction; Edwin B. Willis and Arthur Krams, set decoration, The Merry Widow | | Frank Hotaling, art direction; John McCarthy, Jr. and Charles Thompson, set decoration, The Quiet Man | | Paul Sheriff, art direction; Marcel Vertes, set decoration, Moulin Rouge | | Lyle Wheeler and John DeCuir, art direction; Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox, set decoration, The Snows of Kilimanjaro |
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| Sound Recording | London Film Sound Dept., Breaking the Sound Barrier |
| Pinewood Studios Sound Dept., The Promoter |
| Republic Studio Sound Dept.; Daniel J. Bloomberg, The Quiet Man |
| Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Dept., Hans Christian Andersen |
| Twentieth Century-Fox Studio Sound Dept., Thomas T. Moulton, With a Song in My Heart |
| Music | | Song | “Am I in Love,” Son of Paleface, Jack Brooks, music | | “Because You're Mine,” Because You're Mine, Nicholas Brodszky, music; Sammy Cahn, lyrics | | “High Noon” (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'), High Noon, Dimitri Tiomkin, music; Ned Washington, lyrics | | “Thumbelina,” Hans Christian Andersen, Frank Loesser, music and lyrics | | “Zing a Little Zong,” Just for You, Harry Warren, music; Leo Robin, lyrics | | Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Herschel Burke Gilbert, The Thief | | Alex North, Viva Zapata! | | Miklos Rozsa, Ivanhoe | | Max Steiner, The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima | | Dimitri Tiomkin, High Noon | | Scoring of a Musical Picture | Lennie Hayton, Singin' in the Rain | | Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner, The Jazz Singer | | Gian-Carlo Menotti, The Medium | | Alfred Newman, With a Song in My Heart | | Walter Scharf, Hans Christian Andersen |
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| Film Editing | William Austin, Flat Top |
| Anne Bauchens, The Greatest Show on Earth |
| Ralph Kemplen, Moulin Rouge |
| Warren Low, Come Back, Little Sheba |
| Elmo Williams and Harry Gerstad, High Noon |
| Costume Design | | Black-and-White | Edith Head, Carrie | | Charles LeMaire and Dorothy Jeakins, My Cousin Rachel | | Jean Louis, Affair in Trinidad | | Sheila O'Brien, Sudden Fear | | Helen Rose, The Bad and the Beautiful | | Color | Clave, Mary Wills and Madame Karinska, Hans Christian Andersen | | Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins and Miles White, The Greatest Show on Earth | | Charles LeMaire, With a Song in My Heart | | Helen Rose and Gile Steele, The Merry Widow | | Marcel Vertes, Moulin Rouge |
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| Special Effects | Plymouth Adventure (MGM) |
| Short Subjects | | Cartoon | Johann Mouse (Tom and Jerry Series) (Frederick Quimby, producer; MGM) | | Little Johnny Jet (MGM Series) (Frederick Quimby, producer; MGM) | | Madeline (Jolly Frolics Series) (United Productions of America; Columbia) | | Pink and Blue Blues (Mister Magoo Series) (United Productions of America; Columbia) | | Romance of Transportation (Tom Daly, producer; National Film Board of Canada) | | One-Reel | Athletes of the Saddle (Grantland Rice Sportlights Series) (Jack Eaton, producer; Paramount) | | Desert Killer (Sports Parade Series) (Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.) | | Light in the Window (Art Film Series) (Art Film Productions; Twentieth Century-Fox) | | Neighbours (National Film Board of Canada; Arthur Mayer-Edward Kingsley, Inc.) | | Royal Scotland (Crown Film Unit; British Information Services) | | Two-Reel | Bridge of Time (London Films; British Information Services) | | Devil Take Us (Theatre of Life Series) (Herbert Morgan, producer; Theatre of Life Production) | | Thar She Blows! (Technicolor Special Series) (Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.) | | Water Birds (True-Life Adventure Series) (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio) |
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| Documentary | | Short Subject | Devil Take Us (Herbert Morgan, producer; Theatre of Life Production) | | The Garden Spider (Epeira Diadema) (Cristallo Films; I.F.E. Releasing Corp.) | | Man Alive! (United Productions of America; American Cancer Society) | | Neighbours (National Film Board of Canada; Arthur Mayer-Edward Kingsley, Inc.) | | Feature | The Hoaxters (Dore Schary, producer; MGM) | | Navajo (Bartlett-Foster Productions; Lippert Pictures, Inc.) | | The Sea Around Us (Irwin Allen, producer; RKO Radio) |
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| Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Honorary Awards | To George Alfred Mitchell for the design and development of the camera which bears his name and for his continued and dominant presence in the field of cinematography |
| To Joseph M. Schenck for long and distinguished service to the motion picture industry |
| To Merian C. Cooper for his many innovations and contributions to the art of motion pictures |
| To Harold Lloyd, master comedian and good citizen |
| To Bob Hope for his contribution to the laughter of the world, his service to the motion picture industry and his devotion to the American premise |
| To Forbidden Games (France), best foreign language film first released in the United States during 1952 |
