At the 1966 GANEFO, the athletics events were held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November and December. A total of 21 men's and 12 women's athletics events were contested at the competition. The program was the same as the previous edition, except that the men's decathlon and steeplechase events were dropped. Composed entirely of athletes from Asian nations, the events served as a counterpart to the athletics at the 1966 Asian Games, which featured largely Western-allied Asian nations.