Divers performed five compulsory dives from the 3 metre board – running plain header forward, standing backward header, running isander (half gainer), backward spring and forward dive, running header forward with half screw – and six dives of the competitor's choice (different from the compulsory), from either board, for a total of eleven dives.

Twenty-three divers from fifteen nations competed.

Each of the five judges arrived at a final score for each diver.

The three divers who scored the smallest number of points in each group of the first round advanced to the final.

[1] The Official Report shows both the raw scores and the points determined via the point-for-place system used in the preliminary round.