The women's 5000 metres event at the 1997 European Athletics U23 Championships was held in Turku, Finland, on 10 July 1997.
| Gold | Oksana Zheleznyak | |
| Silver | Cristina Iloc | |
| Bronze | Marta Domínguez |
10 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 15:45.22 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 15:46.59 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 15:49.96 | ||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 15:50.94 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 15:55.74 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 15:56.92 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 15:58.60 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 16:10.95 | |||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | 16:12.87 | ||||
| 10 | align=left | align=left | | 16:14.86 | |||
| 11 | align=left | align=left |  | 16:39.41 | |||
| align=left | align=left | DNF |
According to an unofficial count, 12 athletes from 9 countries participated in the event.
(1) (1) (1) (2) (2) (1) (1)