| Final | time | L | -time | Heat | __________________ |
| 1. | Australia | 4:01.50 | 6 | | Final | |
| Dyana Calub 1:02.08 | Leisel Jones 1:07.68 | Petria Thomas 57.65s | Sarah Ryan 54.09s |
| 2. | United States | 4:01.81 | 5 | 0.31s | Final | |
| Natalie Coughlin 1:00.18 | Megan Quann 1:07.67 | Mary Descenza 59.59s | Erin Phenix 54.37s |
| 3. | China | 4:02.53 | 3 | 1.03s | Final | |
| Shu Zhan 1:01.97 | Xuejuan Luo 1:06.47 | Yi Ruan 59.74s | Yanwei Xu 54.35s |
| 4. | Germany | 4:03.06 | 4 | 1.56s | Final | |
| Antje Buschschulte 1:01.07 | Simone Weiler 1:09.58 | Annika Mehlhorn 58.59s | Katrin Meissner 53.82s |
| 5. | Japan | 4:06.44 | 2 | 4.94s | Final | |
| Mai Nakamura 1:01.97 | Junko Isoda 1:10.14 | Junko Onishi 59.14s | Sumika Minamoto 55.19s |
| 6. | Great Britain | 4:06.66 | 7 | 5.16s | Final | |
| Sarah Price 1:01.84 | Jaime King 1:09.86 | Nicola Jackson 59.85s | Rosalind Brett 55.11s |
| 7. | Russia | 4:07.58 | 1 | 6.08s | Final | |
| Stanislava Komarova 1:02.06 | Elena Bogomazova 1:10.05 | Natalia Soutiaguina 59.32s | Inna Yaitskaya 56.15s |
| 8. | Canada | 4:08.10 | 8 | 6.60s | Final | |
| Jennifer Fratesi 1:02.62 | Rhiannon Leier 1:09.85 | Audrey Lacroix 1:00.26 | Laura Nicholls 55.37s |
