| Event: | Men's 400 metres |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The men's 400 metres event at the 1986 European Athletics Championships was held in Stuttgart, then West Germany, at Neckarstadion on 27, 28, and 29 August 1986.
| Gold | Roger Black | |
| Silver | Thomas Schönlebe | |
| Bronze | Mathias Schersing |
29 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | 44.59 | CR NR | ||||
| align=left | align=left | 44.63 | |||||
| align=left | align=left | 44.85 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 45.25 | ||||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 45.35 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 45.41 | NR | ||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 45.93 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 46.38 |
28 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 45.33 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 45.38 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 45.62 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 45.81 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 45.89 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 46.01 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 46.22 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 46.61 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 45.35 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 45.42 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 45.71 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 45.72 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 45.94 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 46.36 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 46.46 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 46.66 |
27 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 45.40 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 45.78 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 46.11 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 46.12 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 46.53 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 47.52 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 48.97 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 46.00 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 46.04 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 46.09 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 46.23 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 46.32 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 46.40 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 45.75 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 45.88 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 46.18 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 46.23 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 46.41 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 46.88 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 45.54 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 45.69 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 45.77 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 46.09 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 47.81 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | DQ |
According to an unofficial count, 25 athletes from 13 countries participated in the event.
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