| Event: | Men's 400 metres |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The men's 400 metres at the 1938 European Athletics Championships was held in Paris, France, at Stade Olympique de Colombes on 3 and 4 September 1938.
| Gold | Godfrey Brown | |
| Silver | Karl Baumgarten | |
| Bronze | Erich Linnhoff |
4 September
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 47.4 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | 48.2 | |||||
| align=left | align=left | 48.8 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 48.9 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 49.1 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 50.0 |
3 September
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 48.4 | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 49.2 | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 49.8 | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 50.3 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 50.3 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 55.0 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 49.2 | ||||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 49.7 | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left |  | 50.4 | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 50.6 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 52.3 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 48.3 | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 48.3 | ||||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 49.5 | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 49.5 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  |
According to an unofficial count, 17 athletes from 13 countries participated in the event.
(1) (1) (1) (2) (2) (1) (1) (2) (2)