The 12th European Athletics Championships were held from 29 August to 3 September 1978 in the Stadion Evžena Rošického in Prague, the capital city of Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic).

[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] There were a number of disqualifications because of infringements of IAAF doping rules resulting in 18-month bans for shot putter Yevgeniy Mironov, javelin thrower Vasiliy Yershov, and pentathletes Nadiya Tkachenko and Yekaterina Gordiyenko, all competing for the Soviet Union, as well as shot putter Elena Stoyanova from Bulgaria.

[10] 1971 |1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 | 1971 |1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 | †: In shot put, Yevgeniy Mironov initially finished second (20.87m), but was disqualified for an infringement of IAAF doping rules.

[9] 1971 |1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 | 1971 |1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 | ‡: In pentathlon, Nadiya Tkachenko (URS) initially finished 1st (4744pts), but was disqualified for an infringement of IAAF doping rules.

[9] *   Host nation (Czechoslovakia)According to an unofficial count, 847 athletes from 30 countries participated in the event, 157 athletes less than the official number of 1004, and one country more than the official number of 29 as published.