Heats

First 2 from each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.

Rank	Heat	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	3	Rita Wilden	West Germany	54.00	Q
2	3	Inta Kļimoviča	Soviet Union	54.09	Q
3	2	Jelica Pavličić	Yugoslavia	54.44	Q
4	1	Lyubov Aksenova	Soviet Union	54.53	Q
5	2	Dagmar Fuhrmann	West Germany	54.57	Q
6	2	Rosine Wallez	Belgium	54.61	q
7	1	Éva Tóth	Hungary	54.96	Q
8	2	Patricia Darbonville	France	55.69	q
9	1	Catherine Delachanal	France	55.71
10	3	Helen Ritter	Liechtenstein	59.53	NR

Semifinals

First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the final.

Rank	Heat	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	1	Jelica Pavličić	Yugoslavia	53.31	Q
2	1	Inta Kļimoviča	Soviet Union	53.31	Q
3	1	Dagmar Fuhrmann	West Germany	53.36
4	1	Éva Tóth	Hungary	53.99
5	2	Rita Wilden	West Germany	54.17	Q
6	2	Lyubov Aksenova	Soviet Union	54.37	Q
7	2	Rosine Wallez	Belgium	55.39
8	2	Patricia Darbonville	France	57.30

Final

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Rita Wilden	West Germany	52.26	WR
	Jelica Pavličić	Yugoslavia	52.47	NR
	Inta Kļimoviča	Soviet Union	52.80	NR
4	Lyubov Aksenova	Soviet Union	53.60