| Event: | Men's 3000 metres steeplechase |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The men's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1971 European Athletics Championships was held in Helsinki, Finland, at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 13 and 15 August 1971.
| Gold | Jean-Paul Villain | |
| Silver | Dušan Moravčík | |
| Bronze | Pavel Sysoev Yakovlevich |
15 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 8:25.12 | NR | |||
| align=left | align=left | 8:26.11 | NR | ||||
| align=left | align=left | 8:26.42 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 8:26.97 | ||||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 8:30.94 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 8:32.15 | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 8:33.05 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 8:35.12 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 8:38.96 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left |  | 8:39.58 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | | 8:55.34 | |||
| align=left | align=left | DNF |
13 August
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 8:29.65 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 8:29.75 | NR Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 8:30.87 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 8:33.36 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 8:35.88 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 8:37.15 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 8:38.24 | NR | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 8:41.11 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 8:44.50 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left |  | 8:44.68 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | | 8:54.70 | |||
| 12 | align=left | align=left |  | 9:02.11 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 8:32.81 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 8:33.34 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 8:34.17 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 8:34.28 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 8:35.62 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 8:40.34 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 8:44.34 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 8:46.98 | ||||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 8:54.83 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | | 8:57.93 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left | 8:58.27 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 8:28.32 | NR Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 8:28.96 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 8:30.30 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 8:31.85 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 8:35.24 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 8:36.11 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 8:36.67 | NR | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 8:40.07 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 8:50.64 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | 8:53.31 |
According to an unofficial count, 33 athletes from 18 countries participated in the event.
(1) (3) (3) (2) (3) (3) (1) (1) (2)