The women's 5000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics were held at the Olympic Stadium on 19 and 22 August
| width=200 bgcolor=gold | Gold | width=200 bgcolor=silver | Silver | width=200 bgcolor=CC9966 | Bronze |
| Vivian Cheruiyot | Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet | Meseret Defar |
| World record | 14:11.15 | Oslo, Norway | 6 June 2008 | ||
| Championship record | 14:38.59 | Helsinki, Finland | 13 August 2005 | ||
| World leading | 14:33.65 | London, Great Britain | 25 July 2009 | ||
| African record | 14:11.15 | Oslo, Norway | 6 June 2008 | ||
| Asian record | 14:28.09 | Shanghai, China | 23 October 1997 | ||
| North American record | 14:44.80 | Walnut, United States | 13 April 2007 | ||
| South American record | 15:22.01 | Hechtel-Eksel, Belgium | 31 July 1993 | ||
| European record | 14:23.75 | Kazan, Russia | 19 July 2008 | ||
| Oceanian record | 14:45.93 | Rome, Italy | 11 July 2008 |
| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 19, 2009 | 10:45 | Heats | |
| August 22, 2009 | 19:35 | Final |
Qualification: First 5 in each heat(Q) and the next 5 fastest(q) advance to the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 15:16.46 | Q | ||||
| 2 | 15:16.59 | Q | ||||
| 1 | 15:17.64 | Q | ||||
| 1 | 15:17.77 | Q | ||||
| 1 | 15:18.39 | Q | ||||
| 2 | 15:18.40 | Q | ||||
| 2 | 15:19.66 | Q | ||||
| 2 | 15:19.88 | Q, SB | ||||
| 1 | 15:19.90 | Q, SB | ||||
| 10 | 1 | 15:19.93 | Q | |||
| 11 | 2 | 15:20.20 | q | |||
| 12 | 2 | 15:20.88 | q | |||
| 13 | 1 | 15:21.01 | q, PB | |||
| 14 | 2 | 15:23.96 | q, SB | |||
| 15 | 2 | 15:25.09 | q, SB | |||
| 16 | 1 | 15:32.33 | ||||
| 17 | 1 | 15:32.62 | ||||
| 18 | 2 | 15:53.41 | ||||
| 19 | 2 | 15:54.32 | ||||
| 20 | 1 | 16:00.83 | ||||
| 21 | 2 | 16:33.77 | PB | |||
| 22 | 1 | 17:12.21 | ||||
| 1 | DNS |
Key: PB = Personal best, SB = Seasonal best
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:57.97 | |||||
| 14:58.33 | |||||
| 14:58.41 | |||||
| 15:03.38 | |||||
| 15:03.72 | |||||
| 15:06.06 | |||||
| 15:09.74 | SB | ||||
| 15:11.12 | |||||
| 15:11.63 | |||||
| 10 | 15:12.22 | ||||
| 11 | 15:12.44 | SB | |||
| 12 | 15:13.01 | PB | |||
| 13 | 15:18.18 | SB | |||
| 14 | 15:20.36 | ||||
| 15 | 15:31.73 |
Key: CR = Championship record, DNF = Did not finish, DNS = Did not start, PB = Personal best, SB = Seasonal best
| Intermediate | Athlete | Country | Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m | 3:06.02 | ||
| 2000m | 6:11.04 | ||
| 3000m | 9:15.05 | ||
| 4000m | 12:15.79 | ||