1983 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 400 metres

These are the official results of the Women's 400 metres event at the 1983 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

There were a total number of 35 participating athletes, with five qualifying heats and the final held on Wednesday 10 August 1983.

Jarmila Kratochvílová in lane 3 spent much of the race chasing Mariya Kulchunova-Pinigina to her outside, while Taťána Kocembová quickly made up the stagger on Rosalyn Bryant between the two Czech teammates.

She widened that to four metres by the finish and Kocembová opened up a similar gap on Pinigina.

Each of the top four competitors in this race set their lifetime best, Kratochvílová only being beaten once with 1985's still standing world record 47.60 by Marita Koch.