The women's 10,000 metres event featured at the 1987 World Championships in Rome, Italy. There were a total number of 37 participating athletes, with the final being held on 4 September 1987.
| Gold |  Ingrid KristiansenNorway (NOR) | |
| Silver | Yelena Zhupiyeva Soviet Union (URS) | |
| Bronze | Kathrin Ullrich East Germany (GDR) |
Existing records at the start of the event.
| World record | 30:13.74 | Oslo, Norway | July 5, 1986 | ||
| Championship record | New event | ||||
| RANK | FINAL | TIME | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31:05.85 | |||
| 31:09.40 | |||
| 31:11.34 | |||
| 4. | 31:18.38 | ||
| 5. | 31:19.82 | ||
| 6. | 31:45.43 | ||
| 7. | 31:46.61 | ||
| 8. | 31:48.88 | ||
| 9. | 31:55.30 | ||
| 10. | 31:56.80 | ||
| 11. | 32:07.49 | ||
| 12. | 32:12.51 | ||
| 13. | 32:22.88 | ||
| 14. | 32:25.67 | ||
| 15. | 32:30.00 | ||
| 16. | 32:31.55 | ||
| 17. | 32:44.42 | ||
| 18. | 33:15.08 | ||
| 19. | 33:20.65 | ||
| 20. | 33:25.46 | ||
| 21. | 34:07.26 | ||
| — | DNF |
| RANK | HEAT 1 | TIME | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 33:07.92 | ||
| 2. | 33:09.26 | ||
| 3. | 33:09.86 | ||
| 4. | 33:10.37 | ||
| 5. | 33:10.95 | ||
| 6. | 33:16.18 | ||
| 7. | 33:20.14 | ||
| 8. | 33:22.25 | ||
| 9. | 33:24.20 | ||
| 10. | 33:24.37 | ||
| 11. | 33:38.37 | ||
| 12. | 33:41.10 | ||
| 13. | 33:46.05 | ||
| 14. | 34:10.36 | ||
| 15. | 34:24.52 | ||
| 16. | 34:57.64 | ||
| 17. | 36:23.66 | ||
| — | DNF | ||
| — | DNF | ||
| — | DNS |
| RANK | HEAT 2 | TIME | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 33:32.05 | ||
| 2. | 33:34.79 | ||
| 3. | 33:35.49 | ||
| 4. | 33:35.73 | ||
| 5. | 33:36.07 | ||
| 6. | 33:37.36 | ||
| 7. | 33:40.87 | ||
| 8. | 33:43.71 | ||
| 9. | 33:48.91 | ||
| 10. | 33:54.99 | ||
| 11. | 34:14.92 | ||
| 12. | 34:15.48 | ||
| 13. | 34:43.35 | ||
| 14. | 35:00.17 | ||
| 15. | 35:30.96 | ||
| — | DNF | ||
| — | DNF | ||
| — | DNF |