The men's 400 metres event at the 1997 European Athletics U23 Championships was held in Turku, Finland, on 10, 11 and 12 July 1997.
| Gold | Mark Hylton | |
| Silver | Piotr Haczek | |
| Bronze | Kjell Provost |
12 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 45.71 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 45.72 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 45.99 | ||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 46.47 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 46.48 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 46.63 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 46.80 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 46.91 |
11 July
Qualified: first 4 in each to the Final
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 46.25 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 46.69 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 46.70 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 46.91 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 47.30 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 47.38 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 47.74 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 48.68 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 46.82 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 46.93 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 47.17 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 47.44 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 47.55 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 47.60 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 47.62 | |||
| align=left | align=left | DQ |
10 July
Qualified: first 4 in each heat and 4 best to the Semifinal
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 46.53 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 47.21 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 47.40 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 47.41 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 47.88 | q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 48.02 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 48.38 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 47.05 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 47.22 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 47.27 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 47.66 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 47.78 | q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 47.95 | q | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 48.93 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 47.05 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 47.17 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 47.18 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 47.44 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 47.68 | q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 48.27 |
According to an unofficial count, 20 athletes from 15 countries participated in the event.
(1) (1) (1) (1) (2) (1) (2) (1) (2) (1) (2) (2)