The 4 × 400 metres relay at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Stadio Olimpico on September 5 and September 6.
All times shown are in minutes.
| Rank | Team | Name | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dagmar Neubauer, Kirsten Emmelmann, Petra Muller, Sabine Busch | 3:18.63 | ||||
| 3:19.50 | |||||
 | 3:21.04 | ||||
| 4 |  | 3:24.11 | |||
| 5 | 3:24.94 | ||||
| 6 |  | 3:27.51 | |||
| 7 |  | 3:27.60 | |||
| 8 |  | Tsvetanka Ilieva, Rositsa Stamenova, Pepa Pavlova, Yuliana Marinova | 3:30.24 |
| Rank | Team | Name | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aelita Yurchenko, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina | 3:20.75 | Q | ||
| 2 | | Diane Dixon, Denean Howard, Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Lillie Leatherwood | 3:22.32 | Q | |
| 3 | | Charmaine Crooks, Molly Killingbeck, Marita Payne-Wiggins, Jillian Richardson | 3:24.50 | Q | |
| 4 | | Nathalie Simon, Nadine Debois, Hélène Huart, Fabienne Ficher | 3:27.76 | q | |
| 5 |  | Ester Petitón, Odalys Hernandez, Tania Fernández, Ana Fidelia Quirot | 3:29.78 | ||
| 6 |  | Geraldine Shitandayi, Florence Wanjiru, Esther Kavaya, Francisca Chepkurui | 3:30.16 | ||
| 7 |  | Suzete Montalvão, Maria do Carmo Fialho, Soraya Vieira Telles, Maria Magnólia Souza Figueiredo | 3:30.91 | ||
| 8 |  | Vandana Shanbag, Vandana Rao, Shiny Wilson, P.T. Usha | 3:31.55 |
| Rank | Team | Name | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirsten Emmelmann, Dagmar Neubauer, Cornelia Ullrich, Petra Muller | 3:22.97 | Q | ||
| 2 | | Malena Andonova, Rositsa Stamenova, Pepa Pavlova, Yuliana Marinova | 3:25.85 | Q | |
| 3 | Karin Lix, Helga Arendt, Gudrun Abt, Gisela Kinzel | 3:26.75 | Q | ||
| 4 | | Cathy Rattray-Williams, Sandie Richards, Sandra Farmer, Ilrey Oliver | 3:27.13 | q | |
| 5 |  | Erzsebet Szabo, Erika Szopori, Noémi Bátori, Judit Forgács | 3:31.56 | ||
| 6 |  | Rossana Morabito, Cosetta Campana, Nevia Pistrino, Erica Rossi | 3:31.72 | ||
| 7 |  | Rosa Colorado, Cristina Pérez, Montserrat Pujol, Blanca Lacambra | 3:32.01 | ||
| 8 |  | Michelle Walsh-Carroll, Barbara Johnson, Patricia Walsh, Patricia Amond | 3:32.56 |