| 1 | Tatyana Samolenko | URS | |
8:46,52 | |
| 2 | Olga Bondarenko | URS | |
8:47,08 | |
| 3 | Maricica Puica | ROM | |
8:47,92 | |
| 4 | Krishna Wood | AUS | 8:48,38 | AR | |
| 5 | Yvonne Murray | GBR | 8:48,43 | ||
| 6 | Lynn Williams | CAN | 8:50,80 | NR | |
| 7 | Leslie Seymour | USA | 8:54,55 | ||
| 8 | Elly van Hulst | NED | 8:57,46 | ||
| 9 | Ingrid Delagrange | BEL | 9:19,45 | ||
| 10 | Ena Guevara | PER | 9:35,64 | ||
| 11 | Cornelia Melis | ARU | 10:24,79 | NR | |
| Brigitte Kraus | FRG | DNF |