05 AUG 2016 - 21 AUG 2016
Sydney (Olympic Stadium), AUSTRALIA 22 SEP 2000 - 01 OCT 2000
First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q)
| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Deon Hemmings |
 JAM |
54.00 Q SB |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | Irina Privalova |
 RUS |
54.02 Q PB |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | Nezha Bidouane |
 MAR |
54.19 Q |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | Tetiana Tereschuk-Antipova |
 UKR |
54.25 Q |
| 5 | 4 | 2 | Ionela Târlea |
 ROU |
54.70 q SB |
| 6 | 5 | 2 | Gudrún Arnardóttir |
 ISL |
54.82 q |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | Daimí Pernía |
 CUB |
54.92 Q |
| 8 | 3 | 1 | Tasha Danvers |
 GBR |
54.95 Q PB |
| 9 | 6 | 2 | Sandra Glover |
 USA |
54.98 |
| 10 | 4 | 1 | Ulrike Urbansky |
 GER |
55.23 |
| 11 | 7 | 2 | Andrea Blackett |
 BAR |
55.30 |
| 12 | 5 | 1 | Heike Meissner |
GER |
55.73 |
| 12 | 6 | 1 | Kim Batten |
USA |
55.73 |
| 14 | 8 | 2 | Catherine Scott |
JAM |
55.78 |
| 15 | 7 | 1 | Natalya Torshina-Alimzhanova |
 KAZ |
56.22 |
| 16 | 8 | 1 | Yuliya Pechenkina |
RUS |
56.58 |