| 1 | Yekaterina Fesenko-Grun | URS | 56,43 | Q |
| 2 | Ann-Louise Skoglund | SWE | 56,80 | Q |
| 3 | Gwen Wall | CAN | 57,14 | Q |
| 4 | Judi Brown-King | USA | 57,14 | q |
| 5 | Giuseppina Cirulli | ITA | 57,43 | |
| 6 | Rose Tata-Muya | KEN | 58,09 | |
| 7 | Guihua Liu | CHN | 59,39 | |
| 8 | Felicia Candelario | DOM | 1:00,72 |
| 1 | Anna Ambraziene | URS | 56,30 | Q |
| 2 | Susan Morley | GBR | 56,58 | Q |
| 3 | Petra Krug | GDR | 56,87 | Q |
| 4 | Anna Filickova | TCH | 57,09 | q |
| 5 | Ruth Kyalisima | UGA | 57,58 | |
| 6 | Helle Sichlau | DEN | 57,90 | |
| 7 | Tonja Brown | USA | 58,00 | |
| 8 | Ovrill Dwyer-Brown | JAM | 58,40 |
| 1 | Nawal El Moutawakil | MAR | 56,52 | Q |
| 2 | Petra Pfaff | GDR | 56,56 | Q |
| 3 | Hilde Fredriksen | NOR | 56,66 | Q |
| 4 | Christine Slythe | CAN | 57,40 | q |
| 5 | Sandra Farmer-Patrick | JAM | 57,97 | |
| 6 | Verona Elder | GBR | 58,74 | |
| 7 | Tuija Helander-Kuusisto | FIN | 59,43 | |
| 8 | Mary Wagner | FRG | DNF |
| 1 | Debbie Flintoff-King | AUS | 56,47 | Q | |
| 2 | Cristieana Cojocaru-Matei | ROM | 56,49 | Q | NR |
| 3 | Ellen Neumann-Fiedler | GDR | 56,58 | Q | |
| 4 | Sharrieffa Barksdale | USA | 56,60 | q | |
| 5 | Gladys Taylor | GBR | 58,25 | ||
| 6 | Andrea Page | CAN | 58,55 | ||
| 7 | Marcela Sevcikova | TCH | 1:00,34 |
| 1 | Petra Pfaff | GDR | 55,77 | Q |
| 2 | Yekaterina Fesenko-Grun | URS | 55,99 | Q |
| 3 | Ann-Louise Skoglund | SWE | 56,01 | Q |
| 4 | Susan Morley | GBR | 56,09 | Q |
| 5 | Debbie Flintoff-King | AUS | 56,63 | |
| 6 | Gwen Wall | CAN | 56,68 | |
| 7 | Judi Brown-King | USA | 57,98 | |
| Hilde Fredriksen | NOR | DNS |
| 1 | Anna Ambraziene | URS | 55,18 | Q |
| 2 | Ellen Neumann-Fiedler | GDR | 55,23 | Q |
| 3 | Petra Krug | GDR | 55,98 | Q |
| 4 | Cristieana Cojocaru-Matei | ROM | 56,71 | Q |
| 5 | Sharrieffa Barksdale | USA | 56,81 | |
| 6 | Nawal El Moutawakil | MAR | 57,10 | |
| 7 | Anna Filickova | TCH | 57,64 | |
| 8 | Christine Slythe | CAN | 58,53 |