| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | ||||||
| Indoor 2024 Women 3000m | Elle Purrier St. Pierre |  USA | 8:20.87 | Gudaf Tsegay |  ETH | 8:21.13 | Beatrice Chepkoech |  KEN | 8:22.68 |
| Indoor 2022 Women 3000m | Lemlem Hailu | ETH | 8:41.82 | Elle Purrier St. Pierre | USA | 8:42.04 | Ejgayehu Taye | ETH | 8:42.23 |
| Indoor 2018 Women 3000m | Genzebe Dibaba | ETH | 8:45.05 | Sifan Hassan |  NED | 8:45.68 | Laura Muir |  GBR | 8:45.78 |
| Indoor 2016 Women 3000m | Genzebe Dibaba | ETH | 8:47.43 | Meseret Defar | ETH | 8:54.26 | Shannon Rowbury | USA | 8:55.55 |
| Indoor 2014 Women 3000m | Genzebe Dibaba | ETH | 8:55.04 | Hellen Onsando Obiri | KEN | 8:57.72 | Maryam Yusuf Jamal |  BRN | 8:59.16 |
| Indoor 2012 Women 3000m | Hellen Onsando Obiri | KEN | 8:37.16 | Meseret Defar | ETH | 8:38.26 | Gelete Burka | ETH | 8:40.18 |
| Indoor 2010 Women 3000m | Meseret Defar | ETH | 8:51.17 | Vivian Cheruiyot | KEN | 8:51.85 | Sentayehu Ejigu | ETH | 8:52.08 |
| Indoor 2008 Women 3000m | Meseret Defar | ETH | 8:38.79 | Meselech Melkamu | ETH | 8:41.50 | Mariem Alaoui Selsouli |  MAR | 8:41.66 |
| Indoor 2006 Women 3000m | Meseret Defar | ETH | 8:38.80 | Liliya Shobukhova |  RUS | 8:42.18 | Lidia Chojecka |  POL | 8:42.59 |
| Indoor 2004 Women 3000m | Meseret Defar | ETH | 9:11.22 | Berhane Adere | ETH | 9:11.43 | Shayne Culpepper | USA | 9:12.15 |
| Indoor 2003 Women 3000m | Berhane Adere | ETH | 8:40.25 | Marta Dominguez |  ESP | 8:42.17 | Meseret Defar | ETH | 8:42.58 |
| Indoor 2001 Women 3000m | Olga Yegorova | RUS | 8:37.48 | Gabriela Szabo |  ROU | 8:39.65 | Yelena Zadorozhnaya | RUS | 8:40.15 |
| Indoor 1999 Women 3000m | Gabriela Szabo | ROU | 8:36.42 | Zahra Ouaziz | MAR | 8:38.43 | Regina Jacobs | USA | 8:39.14 |
| Indoor 1997 Women 3000m | Gabriela Szabo | ROU | 8:45.75 | Sonia O'sullivan |  IRL | 8:46.19 | Fernanda Ribeiro |  POR | 8:49.79 |
| Indoor 1995 Women 3000m | Gabriela Szabo | ROU | 8:54.50 | Lynn Jennings | USA | 8:55.23 | Joan Nesbit | USA | 8:56.08 |
| Indoor 1993 Women 3000m | Yvonne Murray | GBR | 8:50.55 | Margareta Keszeg | ROU | 9:02.89 | Lynn Jennings | USA | 9:03.78 |
| Indoor 1991 Women 3000m | Marie-Pierre Duros |  FRA | 8:50.69 | Margareta Keszeg | ROU | 8:51.51 | Lyubov Kremlyova |  URS | 8:51.90 |
| Indoor 1989 Women 3000m | Elly van Hulst | NED | 8:33.82 | Elizabeth McColgan | GBR | 8:34.80 | Margareta Keszeg | ROU | 8:48.70 |
| Indoor 1987 Women 3000m | Tatyana Samolenko | URS | 8:46.5 | Olga Bondarenko | URS | 8:47.0 | Maricica Puica | ROU | 8:47.9 |
