| 1 | Liz Lynch-McColgan | GBR | |
31:14,31 |
| 2 | Huandi Zhong | CHN | |
31:35,08 |
| 3 | Xiuting Wang | CHN | |
31:35,99 |
| 4 | Kathrin Ullrich-Wessel | GER | 31:38,96 | |
| 5 | Lynn Jennings | USA | 31:54,44 | |
| 6 | Uta Pippig | GER | 31:55,68 | |
| 7 | Ingrid Christensen-Kristiansen | NOR | 32:10,75 | |
| 8 | Derartu Tulu | ETH | 32:16,55 | |
| 9 | Jill Hunter | GBR | 32:24,55 | |
| 10 | Luchia Yishak | ETH | 32:27,61 | |
| 11 | Conceição Ferreira | POR | 32:29,12 | |
| 12 | Delilah Asiago | KEN | 32:33,71 | |
| 13 | Tatyana Pozdnyakova | URS | 32:35,17 | |
| 14 | Yongmei Wang | CHN | 32:40,22 | |
| 15 | Rosanna Munerotto | ITA | 32:44,43 | |
| 16 | Miki Igarashi | JPN | 32:44,62 | |
| 17 | Iulia Negura-Olteanu | ROM | 32:53,57 | |
| 18 | Carole Rouillard | CAN | 32:58,77 | |
| 19 | Annette Sergent-Palluy | FRA | 33:01,92 | |
| 20 | Izumi Maki | JPN | 33:27,84 | |
| 21 | Jane Ngotho | KEN | 33:36,91 | |
| Albertina Dias | POR | DNF | ||
| Yelena Romanova | URS | DNF | ||
| Päivi Tikkanen | FIN | DNF | ||
| Anne Marie Letko-Lauck | USA | DNF |