The women's 800 metres event at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Sydney, Australia, at International Athletic Centre on 21, 22 and 23 August.
| Gold | Claudia Gesell | |
| Silver | Kathleen Friedrich | |
| Bronze | Nancy Jebet Langat |
23 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | 2:02.67 | |||||
| align=left | align=left | 2:02.70 | |||||
| align=left | align=left | | 2:03.21 | ||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:03.49 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:03.64 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 2:04.59 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 2:08.19 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:10.77 |
22 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 2:05.99 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 2:06.08 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 2:06.73 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 2:07.54 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:07.67 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:09.34 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:12.58 | |||
| align=left | align=left |  | DQ | IAAF rule 141.2 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 2:06.23 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 2:06.79 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 2:07.22 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 2:07.40 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:07.65 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:08.95 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:25.00 | |||
| align=left | align=left | | DNS |
21 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 2:08.02 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 2:08.48 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 2:08.50 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:08.82 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:09.09 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:09.12 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 2:14.63 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:19.11 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 2:06.24 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 2:06.25 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 2:07.46 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 2:08.42 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 2:08.80 | q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 2:11.48 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:15.49 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 2:08.75 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 2:09.17 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 2:10.27 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 2:10.34 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 2:10.90 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 2:11.12 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 2:14.04 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 2:05.66 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 2:06.57 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 2:07.12 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 2:07.56 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 2:08.43 | q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 2:09.88 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 2:10.63 |
According to an unofficial count, 29 athletes from 22 countries participated in the event.