The men's 1500 metres event at the 1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Athens, Greece, at Olympic Stadium on 19 and 20 July.
| Gold | Wilfred Kirochi | |
| Silver | Peter Rono | |
| Bronze | Johan Boakes |
20 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 3:44.62 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 3:45.52 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | 3:45.80 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 3:46.77 | ||||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 3:46.94 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 3:47.36 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:47.75 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:48.39 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:49.08 | |||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | 3:49.81 | ||||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | 3:49.95 | ||||
| 12 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:50.69 | |||
| 13 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:52.03 | |||
| 14 | align=left | align=left | 3:53.94 | ||||
| 15 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:56.10 |
19 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 3:46.42 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 3:46.90 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 3:46.95 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 3:47.39 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:48.65 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:48.99 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:50.91 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 3:51.88 | ||||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 3:51.98 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | | 3:52.43 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left |  | 4:00.10 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left | 4:00.19 | ||||
| 13 | align=left | align=left |  | 4:07.26 | |||
| 14 | align=left | align=left | 4:14.48 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 3:46.31 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 3:46.80 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 3:47.04 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 3:47.23 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 3:51.77 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:54.73 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 3:56.11 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 3:59.14 | ||||
| 9 | align=left | align=left |  | 4:07.24 | |||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | 4:07.31 | ||||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | 4:18.24 | ||||
| 12 | align=left | align=left |  | 4:19.17 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 3:47.24 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 3:49.40 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 3:49.45 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:50.24 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 3:50.59 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:51.85 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 3:52.55 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 3:53.21 | ||||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 3:53.25 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:53.37 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:55.21 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left | 4:02.24 | ||||
| 13 | align=left | align=left | 4:15.77 | ||||
| 14 | align=left | align=left | 4:23.26 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 3:46.97 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 3:47.26 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 3:47.97 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 3:48.45 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 3:49.63 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 3:50.45 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 3:52.61 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 3:53.99 | ||||
| 9 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:55.30 | |||
| 10 | align=left | align=left |  | 3:55.51 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | 3:59.54 | ||||
| 12 | align=left | align=left | 4:01.76 | ||||
| 13 | align=left | align=left |  | 4:07.17 | |||
| 14 | align=left | align=left | 4:15.67 |
According to an unofficial count, 54 athletes from 45 countries participated in the event.