The men's 3000 metres event at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis on 6 and 8 March 1987.
The winning margin was 0.07 seconds which as of July 2024 remains the narrowest winning margin in the men's 3,000 metres at these championships.
| width=200 bgcolor=gold | Gold | width=200 bgcolor=silver | Silver | width=200 bgcolor=CC9966 | Bronze |
| Frank O'Mara | Paul Donovan | Terry Brahm |
The first 3 of each heat (Q) and next 4 fastest (q) qualified for the final.[1]
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 7:54.07 | Q | |||
| 2 | 2 | 7:54.58 | Q | |||
| 3 | 2 | 7:54.79 | Q | |||
| 4 | 2 | 7:54.83 | q | |||
| 5 | 2 | 7:55.37 | q, AR | |||
| 6 | 2 | 7:55.39 | q, PB | |||
| 7 | 2 | 7:56.02 | q | |||
| 8 | 2 | 7:56.99 | NR | |||
| 9 | 1 | 7:58.05 | Q | |||
| 10 | 1 | 7:58.17 | Q | |||
| 11 | 1 | 7:58.47 | Q | |||
| 12 | 1 | 7:58.74 | ||||
| 13 | 1 | 7:59.47 | ||||
| 14 | 1 | 8:01.08 | ||||
| 15 | 2 | 8:08.98 | ||||
| 16 | 1 | 8:11.72 | ||||
| 17 | 1 | 8:17.23 | ||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:03.32 | CR | ||||
| 8:03.89 | |||||
| 8:03.92 | |||||
| 8:04.27 | |||||
| 8:05.55 | |||||
| 8:06.77 | |||||
| 8:08.82 | |||||
| 8:10.25 | |||||
| 8:11.89 | |||||
| 10 | 8:12.41 |