En İyi Belgesel Film Akademi Ödülü

1942'de bir Belgesel kategorisi ve 4 kazanan bulunmaktadır.

• 1942
  • The Battle of Midway
  • Kokoda Front Line
  • Moscow Strikes Back
  • Prelude to War

1943'te Belgesel kategorisi En İyi Belgesel Film ve En İyi Kısa Belgesel Fim olmak üzere ikiye ayrılmıştır.

• 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 - Verilmedi
• 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 (The Unconquered olarak da bilinir)
  • Crèvecoeur
• 1956 - The Silent World
  • Where Mountains Float (Danca: 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 – Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau
  • La grande olimpiade – Romolo Marcellini
• 1962 - Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
  • Alvorada
• 1963 - Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel With the World
  • Le Maillon et la chaîne
  • The Yanks Are Coming
• 1964 - Jacques-Yves Cousteau's 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 Not: 14 Nisan 1969'daki ödül töreninde Young Americans filmi bu kategorideki kazanan olarak açıklanmasına karşın 7 Mayıs 1969'da filmin Ekim 1967'de gösterildiğinin ortaya çıkması üzerine 1968 yılı ödülleri için seçilemiyeçeği açıklanmıştır. 8 Mayıs 1969'da ikinciliği kazanan aday Journey Into Self bu kategorideki kazanan olarak ilan edilmiştir.
  • 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 (İngilizce adıyla "Chariots Of The Gods?")
  • 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
  • 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 – Murray Lerner
  • Agee
  • The Day After Trinity
  • Front Line
  • The Yellow Star - The Persecution of the Jews in Europe 1933-45
• 1981 Genocide – 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 – John Zaritsky
  • A Portrait of Giselle
  • After the Axe
  • Ben's Mill
  • In Our Water
• 1983 He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' – Emile Ardolino
  • Children of Darkness
  • First Contact
  • The Profession of Arms
  • Seeing Red
• 1984 The Times of Harvey Milk – Robert Epstein ve Richard Schmiechen
  • High Schools
  • In the Name of the People
  • Marlene
  • Streetwise
• 1985 Broken Rainbow – Maria Florio ve Victoria Mudd
  • The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
  • Soldiers in Hiding
  • The Statue of Liberty
  • Unfinished Business
• 1986 - (beraberlik): Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got ve 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
  • Adam Clayton Powell
  • Crack USA: County Under Siege
  • For All Mankind
  • Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren

• 1990 American Dream – Barbara Kopple
  • Berkeley in the Sixties
  • Building Bombs
  • Forever Activists: Stories from the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
  • Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey
• 1991 In the Shadow of the Stars – Allie Light ve Irving Saraf
  • Death on the Job
  • Doing Time: Life Inside the Big House
  • The Restless Conscience: Resistance to Hitler Within Germany 1933-1945
  • Wild by Law
• 1992 The Panama Deception – Barbara Trent ve David Kasper
  • Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker
  • Fires of Kuwait
  • Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
  • Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann
• 1993 I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School – Susan Raymond
  • The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter
  • Children of Fate
  • For Better or For Worse
  • The War Room
• 1994 Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision – Freida Lee Mock
  • Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter
  • D-Day Remembered
  • Freedom on My Mind
  • A Great Day in Harlem
• 1995 Anne Frank Remembered – Jon Blair
  • The Battle Over Citizen Kane
  • Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream
  • Small Wonders
  • Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern
• 1996 When We Were Kings – Leon Gast
  • The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story
  • Mandela
  • Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse
  • Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press
• 1997 The Long Way Home – Mark Jonathan Harris
  • Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life
  • Colors Straight Up
  • 4 Little Girls
  • Waco: The Rules of Engagement
• 1998 The Last Days – James Moll
  • The Dancemaker
  • The Farm: Angola, U.S.A.
  • Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth
  • Regret to Inform
• 1999 One Day in September by Kevin MacDonald
  • Buena Vista Social Club
  • Genghis Blues
  • On the Ropes
  • Speaking in Strings

2000: Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport – Mark Jonathan Harris ve Deborah Oppenheimer

• Legacy – Tod Lending
• Long Night's Journey into Day – Deborah Hoffmann ve Frances Reid
• Scottsboro: An American Tragedy – Daniel Anker ve Barak Goodman
• Sound and Fury – Josh Aronson ve Roger Weisberg

2001: Murder on a Sunday Morning (Un coupable idéal) – Jean-Xavier de Lestrade ve Denis Poncet

• Children Underground – Edet Belzberg
• LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton – Deborah Dickson ve Susan Frömke
• Promises – B.Z. Goldberg ve Justine Shapiro
• War Photographer – Christian Frei

2002: Bowling for Columbine – Michael Donovan ve Michael Moore

• Daughter from Danang – Gail Dolgin ve Vicente Franco
• Prisoner of Paradise – Malcolm Clarke ve Stuart Sender
• Spellbound – Jeffrey Blitz ve Sean Welch
• Kanatlı Uygarlık – Jacques Perrin

2003: The Fog of War – Errol Morris

• Balseros
• Capturing the Friedmans
• My Architect
• The Weather Underground

2004: Born into Brothels – Ross Kauffman ve Zana Briski

• The Story of the Weeping Camel (Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel) – Byambasuren Davaa ve Luigi Falorni
• Super Size Me – Morgan Spurlock
• Tupac: Resurrection – Karolyn Ali ve Lauren Lazin
• Twist of Faith – Kirby Dick ve Eddie Schmidt

2005: March of the Penguins (La marche de l'empereur) – Luc Jacquet

• Darwin's Nightmare – Hubert Sauper
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room – Alex Gibney ve Jason Kliot
• Murderball – Henry Alex Rubin ve Dana Adam Shapiro
• Street Fight – Marshall Curry

2006: An Inconvenient Truth – Davis Guggenheim

• Deliver Us from Evil – Amy Berg ve Frank Donner
• Iraq in Fragments – James Longley ve Yahya Sinno
• Jesus Camp – Heidi Ewing ve Rachel Grady
• My Country, My Country – Jocelyn Glatzer ve Laura Poitras

2007: Taxi to the Dark Side – Alex Gibney ve Eva Orner

• No End in Sight – Charles Ferguson ve Audrey Marrs
• Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience – Richard Robbins
• Sicko – Michael Moore ve Meghan O'Hara
• War/Dance – Sean Fine ve Andrea Nix

2008: Man on Wire – Simon Chinn ve James Marsh

• The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) – Ellen Kuras ve Thavisouk Phrasavath
• Encounters at the End of the World – Werner Herzog ve Henry Kaiser
• The Garden – Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• Trouble the Water – Carl Deal ve Tia Lessin

2009: The Cove – Louie Psihoyos

• Burma VJ – Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
• Food, Inc. – Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
• The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers – Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
• Which Way Home – Rebecca Cammisa

• 2010: Inside Job  – Charles H. Ferguson ve Audrey Marrs
  • Exit Through the Gift Shop – Banksy ve Jaimie D'Cruz
  • Gasland – Josh Fox ve Trish Adlesic
  • Restrepo – Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
  • Waste Land – Lucy Walker ve Angus Aynsley
• 2011: Undefeated  – TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay ve Richard Middlemas
  • Hell and Back Again – Danfung Dennis ve Mike Lerner
  • If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front – Marshall Curry ve Sam Cullman
  • Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory – Joe Berlinger ve Bruce Sinofsky
  • Pina – Wim Wenders ve Gian-Piero Ringel
• 2012: Searching for Sugar Man  – Malik Bendjelloul ve Simon Chinn
  • 5 Broken Cameras – Emad Burnat ve Guy Davidi
  • The Gatekeepers - Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky, ve Estelle Fialon
  • How to Survive a Plague - David France ve Howard Gertler
  • The Invisible War - Kirby Dick ve Amy Ziering
• 2013: 20 Feet from Stardom - Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen ve Cveaitrin Rogers
  • The Act of Killing – Joshua Oppenheimer ve Signe Byre Sorenson
  • Cutie and The Boxer – Zachary Heinzerling ve Kydia Dean Pilcher
  • Dirty Wars – Richard Rowley ve Jeremy Scahill
  • The Square – Jehane Nouaim ve Karim Amer
• 2014 : Citizenfour - Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy ve Dirk Wilutzky
  • Finding Vivian Maier – John Mallof ve Charlie Siskel
  • Last Days in Vietnam – Rory Kennedy ve Kevin McAlester
  • The Salt of The Eart – Win Wnders, Julianı Ribeiro Salgado ve David Rosier
  • Virunga – Orlando Won Einsiedel ve Joanna Natasegara
• 2015 Amy - Asif Kapadia ve James Gay Ress
  • Cartel Land – Matthew Heineman ve Tom Yellin
  • The Look Of Silence – Joshua Oppenheimer ve Signe Byre Sorenson
  • What Happened, Miss Simone? – Liz Garbus, Amy Hobby ve Justin Wilkes
  • Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom – Evgeny Afineevsky ve Den Tolmor
• 2016 O.J.: Made in America - Ezra Edelman ve Caroline Waterlow
  • Fire at Sea - Gianfranco Rosi ve Donatella Palermo
  • I Am Not Your Negro - Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety ve Hébert Peck
  • Life, Animated - Roger Ross Williams ve Julie Goldman
  • 13th Ava DuVernay, - Spencer Averick ve Howard Barish