On 24 January 1943, "I-32" departed Truk to begin her third war patrol, assigned to a submarine patrol line south of Guadalcanal, where the six-month Guadalcanal campaign was in its final stages. It concluded while "I-32" was on patrol, when the Japanese completed Operation Ke, the evacuation of their forces from the island, on 8 February 1943. On 11 February, "I-32" sighted a U.S. aircraft carrier steaming eastward, but otherwise her patrol was quiet. She returned to Truk on 22 February 1943.