List of World Athletics Championships records
The World Championships in Athletics is a biennial event which began in 1983. Organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the World Championships are a competition comprising track and field athletics events available to male and female athletes from any of the IAAF's 213 member federations. Championship records are set when an athlete achieves the best mark in an event at one of the editions of the Championships. World, area, and national records have been set at the championships over the course of its history.
Competitors at the World Championships come from around the globe and records have been broken by athletes from all six continents. The United States has been the most successful competitor at the World Championships in both medals and records.
Four athletes hold multiple records: Marion Jones holds both the individual and relay record in the 100 metres, Michael Johnson holds individual and relay records in the 400 metres, Jackie Joyner-Kersee broke both the heptathlon and long jump records in 1987, and Jarmila Kratochvílová set the records in the 400 and 800 metres at the inaugural Championships in 1983. Kratochílová's records have gone unbeaten for over 30 years and are the two oldest records of the Championships.
Men
- Key to tables:
- Note: World records in bold are current world records, those in bold italics are former world records
Decathlon disciplines
Women
- Note:World records in bold are current world records, those in bold italics are former world records
| Event | Record | Name | Location | Date | Ref | Video |
| 100 m | 10.70 |  Sevilla | 22 August 1999 | - | ||
| 200 m | 21.63 |  Beijing | 28 August 2015 | - | ||
| 400 m | 47.99 ' |  Helsinki | 10 August 1983 | |||
| 800 m | 1:54.68 | Helsinki | 9 August 1983 | |||
| 1500 m | 3:51.95 |  Doha | 5 October 2019 | - | ||
| 3000 m | 8:28.71 |  Stuttgart | 16 August 1993 | - | ||
| 5000 m | 14:26.72 | Doha | 5 October 2019 | - | ||
| 10000 m | 30:04.18 |  Paris | 23 August 2003 | - | ||
| 100 m hurdles | 12.28 |  Daegu | 3 September 2011 | - | ||
| 400 m hurdles | 52.16 WR | Doha | 4 October 2019 | - | ||
| 3000 m steeplechase | 8:57.84 | Doha | 30 September 2019 | - | ||
| Marathon | 2:20:57 | Helsinki | 14 August 2005 | - | ||
| High jump | 2.09 m |  Rome | 30 August 1987 | - | ||
| Pole vault | 5.01 m ' | Helsinki | 12 August 2005 | - | ||
| Long jump | 7.36 m | Rome | 4 September 1987 | - | ||
| Triple jump | 15.50 m |  Gothenburg | 10 August 1995 | - | ||
| Shot put | 21.24 m | Rome | 5 September 1987 | - | ||
| Shot put | 21.24 m | Daegu | 29 August 2011 | - | ||
| Discus throw | 71.62 | Rome | 31 August 1987 | - | ||
| Hammer throw | 80.85 m | Beijing | 27 August 2015 | - | ||
| Javelin throw | 71.70 m | Helsinki | 14 August 2005 | - | ||
| Javelin throw | 71.99 m | Daegu | 2 September 2011 | |||
| Heptathlon | 7128 pts | Rome | 31 August – 1 September 1987 | - | ||
| 10000 m walk | 42:55.49 |  Athens | 7 August 1997 | - | ||
| 10 km walk | 42:13 | Gothenburg | 7 August 1995 | - | ||
| 20 km walk | 1:25:41 | Helsinki | 7 August 2005 | - | ||
| 50 km walk | 4:05:56 ' |  London | 13 August 2017 | - | ||
| 4 × 100 m relay | 41.07 | Veronica Campbell-Brown Natasha Morrison Elaine Thompson Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | Beijing | 29 August 2015 | - | |
| 4 × 400 m relay | 3:16.71 | Gwen Torrence Maicel Malone-Wallace Natasha Kaiser-Brown Jearl Miles | Stuttgart | 22 August 1993 | - |
Heptathlon disciplines
Mixed
- Note: World records in bold are current world records, those in bold italics are former world records
| Event | Record | Name | Location | Date | Ref |
| 4 × 400 m relay | 3:09.34 | Wilbert London Allyson Felix Courtney Okolo Michael Cherry | Doha | 29 September 2019 |
General
- . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-17.
- . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-05-09.
Specific