The 1949 Academy Awards were presented March 23, 1950 at the RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, Calif.
| Best Motion Picture | All the King's Men (Robert Rossen Productions; Columbia) |
| Battleground (MGM) |
| The Heiress (Paramount) |
| A Letter to Three Wives (Twentieth Century-Fox) |
| Twelve O'Clock High (Twentieth Century-Fox) |
| Best Actor | Broderick Crawford, All the King's Men |
| Kirk Douglas, Champion |
| Gregory Peck, Twelve O'Clock High |
| Richard Todd, The Hasty Heart |
| John Wayne, Sands of lwo Jima |
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 Broderick Crawford, All the King's Men Archive Photos |
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| Best Actress | Jeanne Crain, Pinky |
| Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress |
| Susan Hayward, My Foolish Heart |
| Deborah Kerr, Edward, My Son |
| Loretta Young, Come to the Stable |
| Actor in a Supporting Role | John Ireland, All the King's Men |
| Dean Jagger, Twelve O'Clock High |
| Arthur Kennedy, Champion |
| Ralph Richardson, The Heiress |
| James Whitmore, Battleground |
| Actress in a Supporting Role | Ethel Barrymore, Pinky |
| Celeste Holm, Come to the Stable |
| Elsa Lanchester, Come to the Stable |
| Mercedes McCambridge, All the King's Men |
| Ethel Waters, Pinky |
| Directing | Joseph L. Mankiewicz, A Letter to Three Wives |
| Carol Reed, The Fallen Idol |
| Robert Rossen, All the King's Men |
| William A. Wellman, Battleground |
| William Wyler, The Heiress |
| Writing | | Motion Picture Story | Harry Brown, Sands of Iwo Jima | | Virginia Kellogg, White Heat | | Clare Boothe Luce, Come to the Stable | | Douglas Morrow, The Stratton Story | | Shirley W. Smith and Valentine Davies, It Happens Every Spring | | Screenplay | Carl Foreman, Champion | | Graham Greene, The Fallen Idol | | Joseph L. Mankiewicz, A Letter to Three Wives | | Robert Rossen, All the King's Men | | Cesare Zavattini, The Bicycle Thief | | Story and Screenplay | Sidney Buchman, Jolson Sings Again | | T. E. B. Clarke, Passport to Pimlico | | Alfred Hayes, Federico Fellini, Sergio Amidei, Marcello Pagliero and Roberto Rossellini, Paisan | | Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb and Sidney Meyers, The Quiet One | | Robert Pirosh, Battleground |
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| Cinematography | | Black-and-White | Joseph LaShelle, Come to the Stable | | Frank Planer, Champion | | Leon Shamroy, Prince of Foxes | | Leo Tover, The Heiress | | Paul C. Vogel, Battleground | | Color | Charles G. Clarke, Sand | | Winton Hoch, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon | | Robert Planck and Charles Schoenbaum, Little Women | | William Snyder, Jolson Sings Again | | Harry Stradling, The Barkleys of Broadway |
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| Art Direction | | Black-and-White | Cedric Gibbons and Jack Martin Smith, art direction; Edwin B. Willis and Richard A. Pefferle, set decoration, Madame Bovary | | John Meehan and Harry Horner, art direction; Emile Kuri, set decoration, The Heiress | | Lyle Wheeler and Joseph C. Wright, art direction; Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox, set decoration, Come to the Stable | | Color | Edward Carrere, art direction; Lyle Reifsnider, set decoration, The Adventures of Don Juan | | Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse; Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore, Little Women | | Jim Morahan, William Kellner and Michael Relph, art direction, Saraband |
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| Sound Recording | Republic Studio Sound Department, Sands of Iwo Jima |
| Twentieth Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Twelve O'Clock High |
| Universal-International Studio Sound Department, Once More, My Darling |
| Music | | Song | “Baby, It's Cold Outside,” Neptune's Daughter, Frank Loesser, music and lyrics] | | “It's a Great Feeling,” It's a Great Feeling, Jule Styne, music; Sammy Cahn, lyrics | | “Lavender Blue,” So Dear to My Heart, Eliot Daniel, music; Larry Morey, lyrics | | “My Foolish Heart,” My Foolish Heart, Victor Young, music; Ned Washington, lyrics | | “Through a Long and Sleepless Night,” Come to the Stable, Alfred Newman, music; Mack Gordon, lyrics | | Scoring of a Comedy or Dramatic Picture | Aaron Copland, The Heiress | | Max Steiner, Beyond the Forest | | Dimitri Tiomkin, Champion | | Scoring of a Musical Picture | Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton, On the Town | | Ray Heindorf, Look for the Silver Lining | | Morris Stoloff and George Duning, Jolson Sings Again |
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| Film Editing | John Dunning, Battleground |
| Harry Gerstad, Champion |
| Frederic Knudtson, The Window |
| Robert Parrish and Al Clark, All the King's Men |
| Richard L. Van Enger, Sands of Iwo Jima |
| Costume Design | | Black-and-White | Edith Head and Gile Steele, The Heiress | | Vittorio Nino Novarese, Prince of Foxes | | Color | Kay Nelson, Mother Is a Freshman | | Leah Rhodes, Travilla and Marjorie Best, The Adventures of Don Juan |
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| Special Effects | Mighty Joe Young (Arko Production; RKO Radio) |
| Tulsa (Walter Wagner; Eagle Lion) |
| Short Subjects | | Cartoon | Canary Row (Merrie Melodies Series) (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.; Warner Bros.) (Nomination withdrawn by producer.) | | For Scent-imental Reasons (Merrie Melodies Series) (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.; Warner Bros.) | | Hatch Up Your Troubles (Tom and Jerry Series) (Frederick Quimby, producer; MGM) | | The Magic Fluke (Fox and Crow Series) (United Productions of America; Columbia) | | Toy Tinkers (Donald Duck Series) (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio) | | One-Reel | Aquatic House-Party (Grantland Rice Sportlights Series) (Jack Eaton, producer; Paramount) | | Roller Derby Girl (Pacemaker Series) (Justin Herman, producer; Paramount) | | So You Think You're Not Guilty (John McDoakes Series) (Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.) | | Spills and Chills (Sports News Review Series) (Walton C. Ament, producer; Warner Bros.) | | Water Trix (Pete Smith Specialties Series) (Pete Smith, producer; MGM) | | Two-Reel | The Boy and the Eagle (William Lasky, producer; RKO Radio) | | Chase of Death (Irving Allen Productions) | | The Grass Is Always Greener (Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.) | | Snow Carnival (Two-reel Technicolor Series) (Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.) | | Van Gogh (Gaston Diehl and Robert Haeessens, producers; Canton-Weiner Films) |
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| Documentary | | Short Subject (tie) | A Chance to Live (March of Time Series) (Richard de Rochemont, producer; Twentieth Century-Fox) | | 1848 (A. F. Films; French Cinema General Cooperative) | | The Rising Tide (National Film Board of Canada; St. Francis-Xavier University) | | So Much for So Little (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.; Warner Bros.) | | Feature | Daybreak in Udi (British Information Services; Crown Film Unit) | | Kenji Comes Home (Paul F. Heard, producer; Protestant Film Commission) |
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| Special Awards | To The Bicycle Thief (Italy), voted by the Academy Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1949 |
| To Bobby Driscoll, oustanding juvenile actor of 1949 |
| To Fred Astaire for his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures |
| To Cecil B. DeMille, distinguished motion picture pioneer, for 37 years of brilliant showmanship |
| To Jean Hersholt for distinguished service to the motionpicture industry |
