Athletics events at the 1998 South American Games were held at the Coliseo Mayor de Deportes Jefferson Pérez next to the Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar in Cuenca, Ecuador, between October 26–30, 1998.

For the first time, a minimum participation of 4 nations per event was required to award a full set of medals.

Men's triple jump and women's 4 x 400 m relay events were concerned, where athletes coming in third did not get bronze medals.

[11] All results are marked as "affected by altitude" (A), because the stadium in Cuenca is situated 2536 m above sea level.

[10] There might have been further events than marked above falling short of participants leading to a reduced number of medals.