The women's 800 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships took place on 9 September.

Prior to the competition, the existing world and championship records were as follows.

The following records were established during the competition: 24 swimmers participated in 3 heats.

[1] The event was a timed final.

The first two heats were contested in the morning with the third and final heat contested in the evening.