The women's 3000 metres event at the 1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, at Laurentian University Stadium on 28 and 30 July.
| Gold | Ann Mwangi | |
| Silver | Fernanda Ribeiro | |
| Bronze | Yvonne Lichtenfeld |
30 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 9:13.99 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | 9:15.33 | |||||
| align=left | align=left | 9:16.02 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 9:16.62 | ||||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:17.96 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:20.88 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:23.37 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:24.19 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 9:28.72 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | 9:31.23 | ||||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | | 9:44.04 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:44.32 | |||
| 13 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:47.08 | |||
| 14 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:49.64 | |||
| 15 | align=left | align=left | 10:20.01 |
28 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 9:20.60 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 9:21.85 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 9:22.15 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 9:22.86 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 9:23.03 | Q | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 9:24.05 | Q | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 9:27.17 | q | ||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 9:31.09 | q | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | | 9:38.73 | q | ||
| 10 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:42.88 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:59.53 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left |  | 10:09.85 | |||
| 13 | align=left | align=left | 10:38.17 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 9:20.41 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 9:22.40 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 9:23.54 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 9:25.70 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 9:26.80 | Q | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 9:27.12 | Q | ||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:41.09 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:48.20 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | | 9:48.74 | |||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | | 9:50.31 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | 9:52.35 | ||||
| 12 | align=left | align=left | | 9:59.00 |
According to an unofficial count, 25 athletes from 19 countries participated in the event.