The women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Annecy, France, at Parc des Sports on 28, 29 and 31 July.
| Gold | Li Yulian | |
| Silver | Allison Beckford | |
| Bronze | Sun Hong Wei |
31 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 55.93 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 57.19 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 57.43 | ||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 57.73 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 58.19 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 58.22 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 58.56 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 59.70 |
29 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 57.77 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 57.79 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 59.06 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 59.25 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 59.43 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 59.80 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 60.12 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 60.45 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 57.07 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 57.28 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 58.47 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 58.69 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 59.39 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 59.57 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 59.66 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 60.25 |
28 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 58.53 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 59.44 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 60.12 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 60.90 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 61.13 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 61.68 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 61.69 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 62.50 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 58.06 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 59.05 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 59.42 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 59.86 | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 61.34 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 61.50 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 61.78 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 58.46 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 59.61 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 59.69 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 60.07 | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 60.36 | q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 60.58 | q | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 61.53 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 59.26 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 59.67 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 60.74 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 61.48 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 61.85 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 62.91 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 63.92 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 65.83 |
According to an unofficial count, 30 athletes from 21 countries participated in the event.