| 2021 | ||||
| (Tokyo, August 6) | ||||
| 1. | Faith Kipyegon (Kenya) | 3:53.11 | OR | |
| 2. | Laura Muir (Great Britain) | 3:54.50 | ||
| 3. | Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) | 3:55.86 | ||
| 4. | Freweyni Gebreezibeher (Ethiopia) | 3:57.60 | ||
| 5. | Gabriela DeBues-Stafford (Canada) | 3:58.93 | ||
| 6. | Linden Hall (Australia) | 3:59.01 | ||
| 7. | Winnie Nanyondo (Uganda) | 3:59.80 | ||
| 8. | Nozomi Tanaka (Japan) | 3:59.95 | ||
| 10. | Elle Purrier St. Pierre (USA) | 4:01.75 | ||
| 12. | Cory McGee (USA) | 4:05.50 | ||
| [Heather McLean (USA) 12th in semi] | ||||
| 2016 | ||||
| (Rio de Janeiro, August 16) | ||||
| 1 | Faith Kipyegon (Kenya) | 4:08.92 | ||
| 2 | Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) | 4:10.27 | ||
| 3 | Jenny Simpson (USA) | 4:10.53 | ||
| 4 | Shannon Rowbury (USA) | 4:11.05 | ||
| 5 | Sifan Hassan (Holland) | 4:11.23 | ||
| 6 | Meraf Bahta (Sweden) | 4:12.59 | ||
| 7 | Laura Muir (Great Britain) | 4:12.88 | ||
| 8 | Dawit Seyaum (Ethiopia) | 4:13.14 | ||
| [Brenda Martinez (USA) 12th in semi (4:10.41)] | ||||
| 2012 | ||||
| (London, August 10) | ||||
| 1 | Asli Çakir Alptekin (Turkey) | 4:10.23 | ||
| 2 | Gamze Bulut (Turkey) | 4:10.40 | ||
| 3 | Maryam Jamal (Bahrain) | 4:10.74 | ||
| 4 | Tatyana Tomashova (Russia) | 4:10.90 | ||
| 5 | Abeba Aregawi (Ethiopia) | 4:11.03 | ||
| 6 | Shannon Rowbury (USA) | 4:11.26 | ||
| 7 | Natallia Kareiva (Belarus) | 4:11.58 | ||
| 8 | Lucia Klocová (Slovakia) | 4:12.64 | ||
| [Morgan Uceny (USA) DNF-fell] | ||||
| [Jenny Simpson (USA) 12th semi III] | ||||
| 2008 | ||||
| 1 | Nancy Langat (Kenya) | 4:00.23 | ||
| 2 | Iryna Lishchynska (Ukraine) | 4:01.63 | ||
| 3 | Nataliya Tobias (Ukraine) | 4:01.78 | ||
| 4 | Lisa Dobriskey (Great Britain) | 4:02.10 | ||
| 5 | Maryam Jamal (Bahrain) | 4:02.71 | ||
| 6 | Natalia Rodríguez (Spain) | 4:03.19 | ||
| 7 | Shannon Rowbury (USA) | 4:03.58 | ||
| 8 | Iris Fuentes-Pila (Spain) | 4:04.86 | ||
| [Erin Donohue (USA) 8th in heat] | ||||
| [Christin Wurth-Thomas (USA) 8th in heat] | ||||
| 2004 | ||||
| 1 | Kelly Holmes (Great Britain) | 3:57.90 | ||
| 2 | Tatyana Tomashova (Russia) | 3:58.12 | ||
| 3 | Maria Cioncan (Romania) | 3:58.39 | ||
| 4 | Natalya Yevdokimova (Russia) | 3:59.05 | ||
| 5 | Daniela Yordanova (Bulgaria) | 3:59.10 | ||
| 6 | Lidia Chojecka (Poland) | 3:59.27 | ||
| 7 | Anna Jakubczak (Poland) | 4:00.15 | ||
| 8 | Elvan Abeylegesse (Turkey) | 4:00.67 | ||
| [Carrie Tollefson (USA) 9th in semi—only U.S. entrant] | ||||
| 2000 | ||||
| 1 | Nouria Mérah-Benida (Algeria) | 4:05.10 | ||
| 2 | Violeta Szekely (Romania) | 4:05.15 | ||
| 3 | Gabriela Szabo (Romania) | 4:05.27 | ||
| 4 | Kutre Dulecha (Ethiopia) | 4:05.33 | ||
| 5 | Lidia Chojecka (Poland) | 4:06.42 | ||
| 6 | Anna Jakubczak (Poland) | 4:06.49 | ||
| 7 | Kelly Holmes (Great Britain) | 4:08.02 | ||
| 8 | Marla Runyan (USA) | 4:08.30 | ||
| [12 | Suzy Favor Hamilton (USA) 4:23.05 (fell)] | |||
| [Shayne Culpepper (USA) 9th in heat] | ||||
| 1996 | ||||
| 1 | Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) | 4:00.83 | ||
| 2 | Gabriela Szabo (Romania) | 4:01.54 | ||
| 3 | Theresia Kiesl (Austria) | 4:03.02 | ||
| 4 | Leah Pells (Canada) | 4:03.56 | ||
| 5 | Margaret Crowley (Australia) | 4:03.79 | ||
| 6 | Carla Sacramento (Portugal) | 4:03.91 | ||
| 7 | Lyudmila Borisova (Russia) | 4:05.90 | ||
| 8 | Małgorzata Rydz (Poland) | 4:05.92 | ||
| [10 | Regina Jacobs (USA) 4:07.21] | |||
| [Vicki Huber (USA) 9th in heat] | ||||
| [Julie Henner (USA) 10th in heat] | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1 | Hassiba Boulmerka (Algeria) | 3:55.30 | ||
| 2 | Lyudmila Rogachova (Russia) | 3:56.91 | ||
| 3 | Yunxia Qu (China) | 3:57.08 | ||
| 4 | Tatyana Dorovskikh (Ukraine) | 3:57.92 | ||
| 5 | Liu Li (China) | 4:00.20 | ||
| 6 | Mayte Zúñiga (Spain) | 4:00.59 | ||
| 7 | Małgorzata Rydz (Poland) | 4:01.91 | ||
| 8 | Yekaterina Podkopayeva (Russia) | 4:02.01 | ||
| [10 | PattiSue Plumer (USA) 4:03.42] | |||
| [Regina Jacobs (USA) 12th in semi] | ||||
| [Suzy Favor Hamilton (USA) 11th in heat] | ||||
| 1988 | ||||
| 1 | Paula Ivan (Romania) | 3:53.96 | ||
| 2 | Laima Baikauskaitė (Soviet Union) | 4:00.24 | ||
| 3 | Tatyana Dorovskikh (Soviet Union) | 4:00.30 | ||
| 4 | Christina Cahill (Great Britain) | 4:00.64 | ||
| 5 | Lynn Williams (Canada) | 4:00.86 | ||
| 6 | Andrea Hahmann (East Germany) | 4:00.96 | ||
| 7 | Shireen Bailey (Great Britain) | 4:02.32 | ||
| 8 | Mary Slaney (USA) | 4:02.49 | ||
| [11 | Kim Gallagher (USA) 4:16.25] | |||
| [Regina Jacobs (USA) 11th in heat] | ||||
| [Ivan 3:53.96 OR] | ||||
| 1984 | ||||
| 1 | Gabriella Dorio (Italy) | 4:03.25 | ||
| 2 | Doina Melinte (Romania) | 4:03.76 | ||
| 3 | Maricica Puica (Romania) | 4:04.15 | ||
| 4 | Roswitha Gerdes (West Germany) | 4:04.41 | ||
| 5 | Christine Benning (Great Britain) | 4:04.70 | ||
| 6 | Christina Cahill (Great Britain) | 4:05.53 | ||
| 7 | Brit McRoberts (Canada) | 4:05.98 | ||
| 8 | Ruth Wysocki (USA) | 4:08.92 | ||
| [Missy Kane (USA) 7th in heat] | ||||
| [Diana Richburg (USA) 8th in heat] | ||||
| 1980 | ||||
| 1 | Tatyana Kazankina (Soviet Union) | 3:56.56 | ||
| 2 | Christiane Wartenberg (East Germany) | 3:57.71 | ||
| 3 | Nadezhda Olizarenko (Soviet Union) | 3:59.52 | ||
| 4 | Gabriella Dorio (Italy) | 4:00.30 | ||
| 5 | Ulrike Bruns (East Germany) | 4:00.62 | ||
| 6 | Lyubov Smolka (Soviet Union) | 4:01.25 | ||
| 7 | Maricica Puica (Romania) | 4:01.26 | ||
| 8 | Ileana Silai (Romania) | 4:02.98 | ||
| [Kazankina 3:59.12 OR {heat}, 3:56.56 OR] | ||||
| 1976 | ||||
| 1 | Tatyana Kazankina (Soviet Union) | 4:05.48 | ||
| 2 | Gunhild Hoffmeister (East Germany) | 4:06.02 | ||
| 3 | Ulrike Bruns (East Germany) | 4:06.09 | ||
| 4 | Nikolina Shtereva (Bulgaria) | 4:06.57 | ||
| 5 | Lyudmila Bragina (Soviet Union) | 4:07.20 | ||
| 6 | Gabriella Dorio (Italy) | 4:07.27 | ||
| 7 | Ellen Wellmann (West Germany) | 4:07.91 | ||
| 8 | Jan Merrill (USA) | 4:08.54 | ||
| [Francie Larrieu-Smith (USA) 9th in semi] | ||||
| [Cyndy Poor (USA) 6th in heat] | ||||
| 1972 | ||||
| 1 | Lyudmila Bragina (Soviet Union) | 4:01.38 | ||
| 2 | Gunhild Hoffmeister (East Germany) | 4:02.83 | ||
| 3 | Paola Cacchi (Italy) | 4:02.85 | ||
| 4 | Karin Burneleit (East Germany) | 4:04.11 | ||
| 5 | Sheila Carey (Great Britain) | 4:04.81 | ||
| 6 | Ilja Keizer (Holland) | 4:05.13 | ||
| 7 | Tamara Pangelova (Soviet Union) | 4:06.45 | ||
| 8 | Jennifer Orr (Australia) | 4:12.15 | ||
| [Francie Larrieu Smith (USA) 8th in semi] | ||||
| [Francie Kraker-Johnson (USA) 8th in semi] | ||||
| [Doris Brown (USA) sprained ankle warming up, DNC] | ||||
| [Bragina 4:06.47 WR, OR {heat}, 4:05.07 WR, OR {semi}, 4:01.38 | ||||
| WR, OR] | ||||
| 1968 | ||||
| (not contested before 1972) |