| Event: | Men's 4 x 400 metres relay |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The men's 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1978 European Athletics Championships was held in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, at Stadion Evžena Rošického on 2 and 3 September 1978.
| Gold | Martin Weppler Franz-Peter Hofmeister Bernd Herrmann Harald Schmid | |
| Silver | Jerzy Włodarczyk Zbigniew Jaremski Cezary Łapiński Ryszard Podlas  | |
| Bronze | Josef Lomický František Břečka Miroslav Tulis Karel Kolář |
3 September
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | 3:02.03 | CR | ||||
| align=left | | 3:03.62 | ||||
| align=left | 3:03.99 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | 3:04.29 | ||||
| 5 | align=left | 3:04.39 | ||||
| 6 | align=left |  | 3:05.63 | |||
| 7 | align=left |  | 3:06.7 | |||
| 8 | align=left | 3:06.9 |
2 September
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | | 3:06.45 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | 3:06.6 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | 3:07.1 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | 3:07.6 | ||||
| 5 | align=left |  | 3:08.0 | |||
| 6 | align=left |  | 3:39.9 |
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | 3:05.97 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | | 3:06.5 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | | 3:06.6 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | 3:06.8 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | 3:07.1 | q | |||
| align=left |  | DNF |
According to an unofficial count, 48 athletes from 12 countries participated in the event.
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