| 1988 World Rowing Championships | |
| Venue: | Idroscalo |
| Location: | Milan, Italy |
| Dates: | 6 August |
| Prev: | 1987 Copenhagen |
| Next: | 1989 Bled |
The 1988 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held on 6 August 1988 at Milan in Italy.[1] Since 1988 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Championships did not include Olympic events scheduled for the 1988 Summer Olympics, but instead the lightweight events were held in conjunction with the World Junior Championships, which ran from 3 to 7 August.
Medalists at the 1988 World Rowing Championships were:
| Event: | Gold: | Time | Silver: | Time | Bronze: | Time | |
| LM1x[2] | Alwin Otten | 7:05.60 | Frans Göbel | 7:09.86 | Ruggero Verroca | 7:10.57 | |
| LM2x[3] | Enrico Gandola Francesco Esposito | 6:30.42 | Hartmut Schäfer Roland Ehrenfels | 6:32.83 | Theo Nieuweboer Jan van Bekkum | 6:33.61 | |
| LM4-[4] | Mauro Torta Dario Longhin Massimo Lana Nerio Gainotti | 6:09.48 | 6:13.31 | Thomas Palm Erik Ring Gerd Meyer Sebastian Franke | 6:15.98 | ||
| LM8+[5] | Alfredo Striani Andrea Re Stefano Spremberg Maurizio Losi Fabrizio Ravasi Enrico Barbaranelli Sabino Bellomo Vittorio Torcellan Luigi Velotti (cox) | 5:43.35 | Jeff Pfaendtner Mike Tuchen Luke Nelson John Irvine Tom White Edward Hewitt Tim Howell Tim O'Brien Michael O'Gorman (cox) | 5:45.88 | Peter Lund Bo Vestergaard Niels Henriksen Jesper Vedel Flemming Meyer Lars Rasmussen Vagn Nielsen Svend Blitskov Stephen Masters (cox) | 5:46.05 |
| Event: | Gold: | Time | Silver: | Time | Bronze: | Time | |
| LW1x[6] | Kristine Karlson | 7:45.25 | Angela Schuster | 7:48.13 |  Maria Sava | 7:48.62 | |
| LW2x[7] | Laurien Vermulst Ellen Meliesie | 7:11.85 | Christine Liegeois Aline Peyrat | 7:14.87 | Gillian Bond Caroline Lucas | 7:15.94 | |
| LW4-[8] | Zeng Meilan Zhang Huajie Lin Zhi-ai Liang Sanmei | 6:51.47 | Brigid Cassells Leeanne Whitehouse Marina Cade Justine Carroll | 6:54.98 | Christiane Zimmer Claudia Engels Sonja Petri Kathrin Schamck | 6:56.67 |