| Final | time | | 1. United States | 3:04.7 | | Thomas Courtney, Charles Jenkins, Louis Jones, Jesse Mashburn | | 2. Australia | 3:06.0 | | Graham Gipson, Kevan Gosper, Leon Gregory, David Lean | | 3. Great Britain | 3:07.1 | | Peter Higgins, Derek Johnson, John Salisbury, Michael Wheeler | | 4. Germany | 3:08.2 | | Karl-Friedrich Haas, Jurgen Kuhl, Walter Oberste, Manfred Porschke | | 5. Canada | 3:10.2 | | Douglas Clement, Murray Cockburn, Laird Sloan, Terry Tobacco | | -. Jamaica | DQ |
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| | | Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground. Capp.: 120,000. | | -- competitors from -- nations. | | Semifinals | | Heats |
| Heat 1 | Time | Ath.1 | Ath.2 | Ath.3 | Ath.4 | | 1. Canada | 3:10.6 | Douglas Clement | Murray Cockburn | Laird Sloan | Terry Tobacco | | 2. United States | 3:10.6 | Thomas Courtney | Charles Jenkins | Louis Jones | Jesse Mashburn | | 3. Czechoslovakia | 3:10.6 | Jaroslav Jiranek | Josef Trousil | Vaclav Janesek | Vilem Mandlik | | 4. Finland | 3:11:4 | Eero Kivela | Osvald Mildh | Pentti Rekola | Voitto Hellsten |
| Heat 2 | Time | Ath.1 | Ath.2 | Ath.3 | Ath.4 | | 1. UT Germany | 3:09.8 | Karl-Friedrich Haas | Jurgen Kuhl | Walter Oberste | Manfred Porschke | | 2. Australia | 3:10.4 | Graham Gipson | Kevan Gosper | Leon Gregory | David Lean | | 3. France | 3:11.8 | Jacques Degats | Jean-Paul Martin du Gard | Jean-Pierre Goudeau | Pierre Haarhoff | | 4. Japan | 3:13.8 | Kanji Akagi | Keiji Ogushi | Shigeharu Suzuki | Yoshitaka Muroya | | 5. Puerto Rico | 3:13.8 | Francisco Rivera | Ismael Delgado | Ivan Rodríguez | Ovidio de Jesús | | 6. Colombia | 3:27.4 | Alfonso Munoz | Carlos Sierra | Guillermo Zapata | Jaime Aparicio |
| Heat 3 | Time | Ath.1 | Ath.2 | Ath.3 | Ath.4 | | 1. Great Britain | 3:08.8 | Peter Higgins | Derek Johnson | John Salisbury | Michael Wheeler | | 2. Jamaica | 3:11.0 | Keith Gardner | George Kerr | Melville Spence | Malcolm A. E. Spence | | 3. Soviet Union | 3:11.2 | Anatoly Yulin | Ardalion Ignatyev | Konstantin Grachev | Yury Lituyev | | 4. Kenya | 3:17.6 | Arap Kiptalam Keter | Bartonjo Rotich | Kamau George Wanyoke | Kibet Boit | | 5. Ethiopia | 3:30.0 | Ayanev Bayene | Beyene Legesse | Hailou Abebe | Mamo Wolde |
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