The Tony Award for Best Direction has been given since 1947. In 1960, the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play. For post-1960 musical awards please reference Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.

Award winners

1940s

• 1947 Elia Kazan – All My Sons
• 1948 Joshua Logan – Mister Roberts
• 1949 Elia Kazan – Death of a Salesman

1950s

• 1950 Joshua Logan – South Pacific
• 1951 George S. Kaufman – Guys and Dolls
• 1952 José Ferrer – The Shrike and The Fourposter and Stalag 17
• 1953 Joshua Logan – Picnic
• 1954 Alfred Lunt – Ondine
• 1955 Robert Montgomery – The Desperate Hours
• 1956 Tyrone Guthrie – The Matchmaker
• 1957 Moss Hart – My Fair Lady
• 1958 Vincent J. Donehue – Sunrise at Campobello
• 1959 Elia Kazan – J.B.

1960s

• 1960 Arthur Penn – The Miracle Worker
• 1961 John Gielgud – Big Fish, Little Fish
• 1962 Noel Willman – A Man for All Seasons
• 1963 Alan Schneider – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• 1964 Mike Nichols – Barefoot in the Park
• 1965 Mike Nichols – The Odd Couple and Luv
• 1966 Peter Brook – Marat/Sade
• 1967 Peter Hall – The Homecoming
• 1968 Mike Nichols – Plaza Suite
• 1969 Peter Dews – Hadrian VII

1970s

• 1970 Joseph Hardy – Child's Play
• 1971 Peter Brook – A Midsummer Night's Dream
• 1972 Mike Nichols – The Prisoner of Second Avenue
• 1973 A. J. Antoon – That Championship Season
• 1974 José Quintero – A Moon for the Misbegotten
• 1975 John Dexter – Equus
• 1976 Ellis Rabb – The Royal Family
• 1977 Gordon Davidson – The Shadow Box
• 1978 Melvin Bernhardt – Da
• 1979 Jack Hofsiss – The Elephant Man

1980s

• 1980 Vivian Matalon – Morning's at Seven
• 1981 Peter Hall – Amadeus
• 1982 Trevor Nunn / John Caird – The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
• 1983 Gene Saks – Brighton Beach Memoirs
• 1984 Mike Nichols – The Real Thing
• 1985 Gene Saks – Biloxi Blues
• 1986 Jerry Zaks – The House of Blue Leaves
• 1987 Lloyd Richards – Fences
• 1988 John Dexter – M. Butterfly
• 1989 Jerry Zaks – Lend Me a Tenor

1990s

• 1990 Frank Galati – The Grapes of Wrath
• 1991 Jerry Zaks – Six Degrees of Separation
• 1992 Patrick Mason – Dancing at Lughnasa
• 1993 George C. Wolfe – Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
• 1994 Stephen Daldry – An Inspector Calls
• 1995 Gerald Gutierrez – The Heiress
• 1996 Gerald Gutierrez – A Delicate Balance
• 1997 Anthony Page – A Doll's House
• 1998 Garry Hynes – The Beauty Queen of Leenane
• 1999 Robert Falls – Death of a Salesman

2000s

• 2000 Michael Blakemore – Copenhagen
• 2001 Daniel J. Sullivan – Proof
• 2002 Mary Zimmerman – Metamorphoses
• 2003 Joe Mantello – Take Me Out
• 2004 Jack O'Brien – Henry IV
• 2005 Doug Hughes – Doubt: A Parable
• 2006 Nicholas Hytner – The History Boys
• 2007 Jack O'Brien – The Coast of Utopia
• 2008 Anna D. Shapiro – August: Osage County