| 1 | Silke Gladisch-Möller | GDR | 22,44 | Q |
| 2 | Gwen Torrence | USA | 22,61 | Q |
| 3 | Angela Bailey | CAN | 22,94 | Q |
| 4 | Falilat Ogunkoya | NGR | 23,12 | q |
| 5 | Natalya German | URS | 23,26 | |
| 6 | Zoila Stewart | CRC | 24,75 | |
| 7 | Jabou Jawo | GAM | 25,50 | |
| 8 | Elizabeth Arteaga | BOL | 26,11 |
| 1 | Nadezhda Georgieva | BUL | 22,77 | Q | |
| 2 | Pam Marshall | USA | 22,84 | Q | |
| 3 | Vineta Ikauniece | URS | 22,98 | Q | |
| 4 | Ulrike Sarvari | FRG | 23,02 | q | |
| 5 | Heike Morgenstern | GDR | 23,04 | q | |
| 6 | Claudia Acerenza | URU | 24,24 | ||
| 7 | Sheila Vyapouri | MRI | 25,32 | ||
| 8 | Hanaa Ali Ahmed | YEM | 29,00 | NR |
| 1 | Mary Onyali | NGR | 22,87 | Q |
| 2 | Ewa Kasprzyk | POL | 22,98 | Q |
| 3 | Pauline Davis-Thompson | BAH | 23,08 | Q |
| 4 | Marie-Christine Cazier-Ballo | FRA | 23,12 | q |
| 5 | Silke-Beate Knoll | FRG | 23,40 | |
| 6 | Aminata Diarra | MLI | 26,46 | |
| 7 | Denise Ouabangui | CAF | 28,37 | |
| Blanca Lacambra | ESP | DNS |
| 1 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | USA | 22,56 | Q |
| 2 | Maya Azarashvili | URS | 22,94 | Q |
| 3 | Merlene Ottey | JAM | 23,19 | Q |
| 4 | Ingrid Verbruggen | BEL | 23,77 | |
| 5 | Amparo Caicedo | COL | 24,30 | |
| 6 | Guilhermina Da Cruz | ANO | 25,74 | |
| Angella Taylor-Issajenko | CAN | DNS |
| 1 | Merlene Ottey | JAM | 22,43 | Q |
| 2 | Silke Gladisch-Möller | GDR | 22,54 | Q |
| 3 | Pam Marshall | USA | 22,67 | Q |
| 4 | Nadezhda Georgieva | BUL | 22,72 | Q |
| 5 | Pauline Davis-Thompson | BAH | 22,89 | |
| 6 | Angela Bailey | CAN | 22,97 | |
| 7 | Vineta Ikauniece | URS | 23,25 | |
| 8 | Falilat Ogunkoya | NGR | 23,71 |
| 1 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | USA | 22,38 | Q | |
| 2 | Mary Onyali | NGR | 22,54 | Q | NR |
| 3 | Ewa Kasprzyk | POL | 22,60 | Q | |
| 4 | Gwen Torrence | USA | 22,61 | Q | |
| 5 | Marie-Christine Cazier-Ballo | FRA | 22,89 | ||
| 6 | Maya Azarashvili | URS | 22,91 | ||
| 7 | Ulrike Sarvari | FRG | 23,04 | ||
| 8 | Heike Morgenstern | GDR | 23,06 |