The 1997 IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships was hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams participated at three levels of competition.
Pool B was contested from 2 to 11 May 1997 in Katowice and Sosnowiec. Austria won the tournament and were promoted to Pool A for 1997. With the announcement that Group A would be expanding from 12 to 16 nations, Group B would also undergo significant changes. The winner (Austria) were promoted. In addition, the remaining three best teams would win the opportunity to play in a qualifying tournament against the last place team from Pool A. Meanwhile, Japan would get the opportunity to play a Far Eastern qualifying tournament. No teams were relegated.
