| Event: | Women's 400 metres |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The women's 400 metres at the 1978 European Athletics Championships was held in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, at Stadion Evžena Rošického on 29, 30, and 31 August 1978.
| Gold | Marita Koch | |
| Silver | Christina Brehmer | |
| Bronze | Irena Szewińska |
31 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | 48.94 | WR | ||||
| align=left | align=left | 50.38 | |||||
| align=left | align=left | | 50.40 | ||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 51.25 | ||||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 51.99 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 52.31 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 52.46 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 52.53 |
30 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 51.76 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 51.88 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 52.14 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 52.24 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 52.92 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 52.95 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 53.93 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 54.47 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 52.01 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 52.29 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 52.37 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 52.65 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 52.66 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 53.23 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 53.50 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 54.08 |
29 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 52.95 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 53.14 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 53.42 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 53.50 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 53.99 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 54.37 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 52.12 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 52.29 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 52.92 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 53.33 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 53.72 | q | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 53.98 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 54.01 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 51.71 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 52.64 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 52.68 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 52.97 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 53.81 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 54.37 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 51.55 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 53.45 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 53.61 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 53.80 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 53.93 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 54.00 |
According to an unofficial count, 25 athletes from 13 countries participated in the event.
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