| Event: | Women's 4 x 100 metres relay |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The women's 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1971 European Athletics Championships was held in Helsinki, Finland, at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 14 and 15 August 1971.
| Gold | Elfgard Schittenhelm Inge Helten Annegret Richter Ingrid Mickler | |
| Silver | Karin Balzer Renate Stecher Petra Vogt Ellen Stropahl | |
| Bronze | Lyudmila Zharkova Galina Bukharina Marina Sidorova Nadezhda Besfamilnaya |
15 August
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | 43.28 | AR | ||||
| align=left | 43.62 | |||||
| align=left | 44.45 | |||||
| 4 | align=left |  | 44.75 | |||
| 5 | align=left |  | 44.78 | |||
| 6 | align=left |  | 44.87 | |||
| 7 | align=left |  | 45.50 | |||
| 8 | align=left |  | 46.12 |
14 August
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | 44.37 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | 44.62 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | | 44.75 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | | 45.30 | NR Q | ||
| 5 | align=left |  | 45.71 |
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | 44.13 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | | 44.87 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | | 45.09 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | | 45.63 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left |  | 45.82 | NR |
According to an unofficial count, 40 athletes from 10 countries participated in the event.
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