The Air Jordan 4 shoes(many people ware the jordan 4 mars size 7) was first released in 1989, designed once again by Tinker Hatfield. It became the first Jordan shoes released on the global market, with some exceptions. The Air Jordan 4 cushioning sole and design helped to make the shoe an international bestseller.

Spike Lee, the director/actor who helped in the ad campaign for the Air Jordan 3, created the famous Can/Can't TV commercial. Lee also featured the Air Jordan 4 in his movie Do The Right Thing in a scene where the character "Buggin Out" (played by Giancarlo Esposito) angrily confronts a Caucasian bicyclist who accidentally bumps into him and scuffs his jordan 4 mars size 7. After the confrontation, Buggin Out promptly places his Jordan retro 4 size 7 shoes on a fire hydrant and cleans it with a toothbrush.

The shoe was retroed in 1999 in a white/black colorway and a black/cement colorway, and stores were sold out of Air Jordan retro 4 within hours of release. However, when Nike released the first Retro+ model of the Air Jordan 4, many fans of the shoe claimed that the company had "destroyed a classic" by removing the nets on the shoe along with making some other subtle changes. One example being "NIKE AIR" logo featured on the back of the shoe being replaced with the Jumpman logo.

In 2006, Nike released several variations of the Jordan retro 4 size 7, including "Mars Blackmons" ("Red" IV's with Spike Lee's alter ego on the heel), "Military Blues", and the $500 "Thunder and Lightning" package. Also released the Mist blue color and all white and all black.