The 8th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 3, 1999, in the city of Palermo, Italy.

A total of 192 athletes, 119 men and 73 women, from 48 countries, took part.

The course was traced through the historical centre of the town with the start/finish line on the "Foro Italico.

[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] †: Florina Pana from  Romania was initially 4th (1:09:26), but tested positive for nandrolone[13] and disqualified.

[4] Although announced, athletes from  Equatorial Guinea,  Moldova,  Senegal, and  Zambia did not show.