The women's 400 metres event at the 1991 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held on 8, 9 and 10 March.
Medalists
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Diane Dixon United States
|
Sandra Myers Spain
|
Anita Protti Switzerland
|
Results
Heats
First 2 of each heat (Q) and next 6 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.[1]
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Aelita Yurchenko |  Soviet Union |
52.15 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Noémi Bátori |  Hungary |
52.60 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 3 | Julia Merino | Spain |
52.68 | q |
| 4 | 2 | Diane Dixon | United States |
52.72 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Sandra Myers | Spain |
53.01 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | Vivienne Spence-Gardner |  Jamaica |
53.34 | q |
| 7 | 2 | Lyudmila Dzhigalova | Soviet Union |
53.87 | q |
| 8 | 1 | Jearl Miles | United States |
53.88 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | Katrin Schreiter |  Germany |
54.00 | Q |
| 10 | 1 | Anita Protti | Switzerland |
54.01 | q |
| 11 | 1 | Iolanda Oanță |  Romania |
54.26 | q |
| 12 | 2 | Rosey Edeh |  Canada |
54.53 | q |
| 13 | 3 | Norfalia Carabalí |  Colombia |
54.78 | |
| 14 | 3 | Nezha Bidouane |  Morocco |
55.69 | |
| 15 | 1 | Claudia Acerenza |  Uruguay |
56.57 | NR |
| 16 | 1 | Lasnet Nkouka |  Republic of the Congo |
58.50 | NR |
| 3 | Fatima Yusuf |  Nigeria |
DQ |
Semifinals
First 3 of each semifinal (Q) qualified directly for the final.[2]
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Diane Dixon | United States |
51.97 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Aelita Yurchenko | Soviet Union |
52.14 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Sandra Myers | Spain |
52.16 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Anita Protti | Switzerland |
52.18 | Q, NR |
| 5 | 1 | Jearl Miles | United States |
52.43 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | Lyudmila Dzhigalova | Soviet Union |
52.68 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | Vivienne Spence-Gardner | Jamaica |
52.84 | PB |
| 8 | 2 | Katrin Schreiter | Germany |
53.05 | |
| 9 | 2 | Iolanda Oanță | Romania |
53.40 | |
| 10 | 2 | Julia Merino | Spain |
53.51 | |
| 11 | 1 | Rosey Edeh | Canada |
54.51 | |
| 1 | Noémi Bátori | Hungary |
DNF |
Final
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Diane Dixon | United States |
50.64 | CR, AR |
 |
Sandra Myers | Spain |
50.99 | NR |
 |
Anita Protti | Switzerland |
51.41 | NR |
| 4 | Aelita Yurchenko | Soviet Union |
51.59 | PB |
| 5 | Jearl Miles | United States |
52.00 | PB |
| 6 | Lyudmila Dzhigalova | Soviet Union |
52.19 | PB |