| 1 | Meseret Defar | ETH | 15:19,46 | Q | |
| 2 | Mercy Cherono | KEN | 15:20,01 | Q | |
| 3 | Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet | KEN | 15:20,08 | Q | |
| 4 | Sentayehu Ejigu | ETH | 15:20,13 | Q | |
| 5 | Yelena Zadorozhnaya | RUS | 15:23,90 | Q | |
| 6 | Amy Hastings | USA | 15:29,49 | q | |
| 7 | Hitomi Niiya | JPN | 15:31,09 | q | |
| 8 | Helen Clitheroe | GBR | 15:37,73 | q | |
| 9 | Kayo Sugihara | JPN | 15:41,78 | ||
| 10 | Alia Saeed Mohammed | UAE | 16:10,37 | ||
| 11 | Pauline Niyongere | BDI | 17:23,56 | ||
| Sabina Fischer | SUI | DNS |
| 1 | Genzebe Dibaba | ETH | 15:33,06 | Q | |
| 2 | Tejitu Daba | BRN | 15:33,67 | Q | |
| 3 | Linet Chepkwemoi Masai | KEN | 15:33,99 | Q | |
| 4 | Lauren Fleshman | USA | 15:34,04 | Q | |
| 5 | Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot | KEN | 15:34,80 | Q | |
| 6 | Zakia Mrisho | TAN | 15:35,37 | q | |
| 7 | Elizaveta Grechishnikova | RUS | 15:35,64 | q | |
| 8 | Megumi Kinukawa | JPN | 15:38,23 | ||
| 9 | Alemitu Bekele | TUR | 15:38,25 | ||
| 10 | Molly Huddle | USA | 15:42,00 | ||
| 11 | Viktoriia Poliudina | KGZ | 16:32,68 |