The women's 1500 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 21–23 August at the Beijing National Stadium.

[2] This event was hit hard by the Russian doping scandal on 31 July 2008, as all three Russian entrants, Yuliya Fomenko, Tatyana Tomashova and Yelena Soboleva, were suspended from competition.

[3] These athletes were three of the favourites to take the medals in Beijing.

Prior to this competition, the existing world record, Olympic record, and world leading time were as follows: No new world or Olympic records were set for this event.

Qualification: First 3 in each heat(Q) and the next 3 fastest(q) advance to the final.