The 35-year-old smashed South Africa blaster Aiden Markram's previous mark of 49 with an extraordinary 40-ball ton against the Netherlands in Delhi that set up Australia's 309-run win.
Markram had claimed the record, previously held by Ireland's Kevin O'Brien since 2011, against Sri Lanka on October 7, but the Proteas star had it for just 18 days.
Maxwell's century was the fourth-quickest in ODI history, falling nine balls shy of South African legend AB de Villiers's knock against the West Indies in 2015.
Australia's innings had suffered a slight lull until Maxwell came to the crease in the 39th over on Wednesday night.
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Maxwell didn't even face a ball until the 41st over, but immediately exploded into action.
The Victorian smashed nine fours and eight sixes, whacking the ball to all parts of Arun Jaitley Stadium, with a mix of reverse sweeps and traditional slogs.
Maxwell broke his own Australian record for fastest ODI century, set at the 2015 World Cup against Sri Lanka.
Incredibly, it was only his third ODI ton, with the other hundred in the format coming against England in 2020.
"I've been pretty crook all day so I wasn't really expecting much," Maxwell said.
"I think with that it probably just cleared my head a little bit to be able to just go out there and play."
Dutch bowler Bas de Leede was on the end of much of Maxwell's hitting with his figures of 2-115 the most expensive in ODI history.
FASTEST CENTURIES IN WORLD CUP HISTORY
1. Glenn Maxwell (Aus) - 40 balls v Netherlands, 2023
2. Aiden Markram (SA) - 49 v Sri Lanka, 2023
3. Kevin O'Brien (Ire) - 50 v England, 2011
4. Glenn Maxwell - 51 v Sri Lanka, 2015
5. AB de Villiers (SA) - 52 v West Indies, 2015
FASTEST CENTURIES IN ODI HISTORY
1. AB de Villiers (SA) - 31 balls v West Indies, 2015
2. Corey Anderson (NZ) - 36 v West Indies, 2014
3. Shahid Afridi (Pak) - 37 v Sri Lanka, 1996
4. Glenn Maxwell (Aus) - 40 v Netherlands, 2023
5. Asif Khan (UAE) - 41 v Nepal, 2023
Maxwell felt he had dispelled any self-doubts he may have had with his dazzling knock.
He broke his leg in November in a freak accident and missed Australia's recent tour of South Africa due to an ankle issue which affected his preparations for the tournament.
"It's probably something I didn't set out to do," Maxwell admitted about his blistering innings.
"I just tried to get a good platform. On this ground, you can cash in and it was nice to get a bit of rhythm finally and hit a few out of the middle of the bat.
"It's a huge confidence boost, a few doubts creep in when you haven't got runs.
"It's like a perfect game, when you get 400 and bowl a team out for under 100," Maxwell said after his side had made 8-399 and Netherlands were skittled out for 90.
"We've had three good wins now and will look to build on that momentum."
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