The 1997 World Fencing Championships were held from 13 July to 19 July 1997 in Cape Town, South Africa at the newly constructed Foreshore Exhibition Centre.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual épée |  Éric Srecki |  Pavel Kolobkov |  Robert Andrzejuk Robert Leroux |
| Individual foil |  Sergei Golubitsky |  Kim Young-ho |  Wang Haibin Lionel Plumenail |
| Individual sabre | Stanislav Pozdnyakov |  Luigi Tarantino | Rafal Sznajder Damien Touya |
| Team épée | Nelson Loyola Torriente Iván Trevejo Perez Carlos Pedroso | Arnd Schmitt Michael Flegler Mark Steifensand Elmar Borrmann | Angelo Mazzoni Sandro Cuomo Alfredo Rota Maurizio Randazzo |
| Team foil | Lionel Plumenail Olivier Lambert Franck Boidin Laurent Bel | Rolando Tuckers Leon Oscar García Pérez Elvis Gregory Gil Ignacio González | Daniele Crosta Alessandro Puccini Stefano Cerioni Salvatore Sanzo |
| Team sabre | Damien Touya Jean-Philippe Daurelle Gaël Touya Matthieu Gourdain | Stanislav Pozdnyakov Sergey Sharikov Grigory Kiriyenko Aleksandr Shirshov | Domonkos Ferjancsik József Navarrete György Boros Csaba Köves |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual épée |  Mirayda García Soto | Zuleydis Ortiz |  Taymi Chappé  Gyöngyi Szalay |
| Individual foil | Giovanna Trillini | Sabine Bau | Diana Bianchedi Monika Weber |
| Team épée | Gyöngyi Szalay Adrienn Hormay Tímea Nagy Hajnalka Király | Imke Duplitzer Claudia Bokel Katja Nass Eva-Maria Ittner | Laura Flessel-Colovic Sophie Moressée-Pichot Valérie Barlois Elsa Girardot |
| Team foil | Giovanna Trillini Diana Bianchedi Valentina Vezzali Annamaria Giacometti | Laura Badea Reka Szabo-Lazar Roxana Scarlat Mioara David | Sabine Bau Monika Weber Rita Koenig Gesine Schiel |