| Event: | Women's 4 x 400 metres relay |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The women's 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1971 European Athletics Championships was held in Helsinki, Finland, at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 14 and 15 August 1971.
| Gold | Rita Kühne Ingelore Lohse Helga Seidler Monika Zehrt | |
| Silver | Anette Rückes Christel Frese Hildegard Falck Inge Bödding | |
| Bronze | Raisa Nikanorova Vera Popkova Nadezhda Kolesnikova Natalya Chistyakova |
15 August
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | 3:29.28 | WR | ||||
| align=left | 3:33.04 | |||||
| align=left | 3:34.11 | |||||
| 4 | align=left |  | 3:34.52 | |||
| 5 | align=left |  | 3:35.28 | NR | ||
| 6 | align=left |  | 3:37.09 | |||
| 7 | align=left |  | 3:37.21 | NR | ||
| align=left |  | DNF |
14 August
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | 3:34.7 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | | 3:35.0 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | 3:35.6 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | | 3:37.2 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left |  | 3:40.8 | NR |
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | 3:34.2 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | | 3:35.6 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | | 3:37.5 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | | 3:41.2 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | 3:43.3 |
According to an unofficial count, 40 athletes from 10 countries participated in the event.
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