| 1 | Margrit Klinger | FRG | 2:02,08 | Q |
| 2 | Jolanta Januchta | POL | 2:02,58 | Q |
| 3 | Milena Matejkovicová-Strnadová | TCH | 2:02,60 | Q |
| 4 | Elena Lina | ROM | 2:04,50 | q |
| 5 | Attina Sawtell | CKI | 2:18,25 | |
| 6 | Kungu Bakombo | COD | 2:19,68 |
| 1 | Yekaterina Podkopayeva | URS | 2:06,42 | Q | |
| 2 | Totka Petrova | BUL | 2:06,60 | Q | |
| 3 | Zuzana Moravciková | TCH | 2:06,76 | Q | |
| 4 | Jill McCabe | SWE | 2:07,23 | q | |
| 5 | Maria Lomba | STP | 2:21,90 | NR | |
| Fatalmoudou Toure | MLI | DQ |
| 1 | Antje Schröder | GDR | 2:10,61 | Q |
| 2 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | TCH | 2:12,35 | Q |
| 3 | Celestine N'Drin | CIV | 2:12,52 | Q |
| 4 | Hala El Moughrabi | SYR | 2:15,37 | |
| 5 | Eucaris Caicedo | COL | 2:17,06 | |
| 6 | Sofiya Mohamed | COM | 2:55,64 | |
| Irina Podyalovskaya | URS | DNS |
| 1 | Lyubov Gurina | URS | 2:04,17 | Q |
| 2 | Doina Melinte | ROM | 2:04,30 | Q |
| 3 | Robin Campbell | USA | 2:04,83 | Q |
| 4 | Tina Krebs | DEN | 2:05,49 | q |
| 5 | Jennifer Bean | BER | 2:13,80 | q |
| 6 | Be Trinh Thi | VIE | 2:17,54 | |
| 7 | Khadija Al Matari | JOR | 2:28,72 |
| 1 | Yekaterina Podkopayeva | URS | 1:59,55 | Q |
| 2 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | TCH | 1:59,58 | Q |
| 3 | Milena Matejkovicová-Strnadová | TCH | 2:00,02 | Q |
| 4 | Robin Campbell | USA | 2:00,22 | Q |
| 5 | Jolanta Januchta | POL | 2:01,23 | |
| 6 | Jill McCabe | SWE | 2:01,92 | |
| 7 | Elena Lina | ROM | 2:03,59 | |
| 8 | Celestine N'Drin | CIV | 2:08,14 |
| 1 | Lyubov Gurina | URS | 1:59,33 | Q |
| 2 | Antje Schröder | GDR | 1:59,46 | Q |
| 3 | Margrit Klinger | FRG | 1:59,49 | Q |
| 4 | Doina Melinte | ROM | 1:59,60 | Q |
| 5 | Zuzana Moravciková | TCH | 1:59,96 | |
| 6 | Totka Petrova | BUL | 2:01,32 | |
| 7 | Tina Krebs | DEN | 2:02,19 | |
| 8 | Jennifer Bean | BER | 2:12,93 |