The 3,000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium.

Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya	Brimin Kipruto , Kenya	Paul Kipsiele Koech , Kenya

Going into the event the top ten IAAF ranked athletes were:

1. Saif Saaeed Shaheen
2. Paul Kipsiele Koech
3. Ezekiel Kemboi
4. Julius Nyamu
5. Bouabdallah Tahri
6. Ali Ezzine
7. David Chemweno
8. Wesley Kiprotich
9. Kipkurui Misoi
10. Simon Vroemen

Qualifying

From the initial three heats the first three in each plus six fastest losers progressed through to the final.

Event Summary

Heats

All times shown are in seconds.
Q denotes automatic qualification.
q denotes fastest losers.
DNS denotes did not start.
DNF denotes did not finish.
NR denotes national record.
PB denotes personal best.
SB denotes personal best.

Heat 1

1. Khamis Abdullah Saifeldin , Qatar 8:17.89 Q SB
2. Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya 8:18.20 Q
3. Bouabdallah Tahri , France 8:18.98 Q
4. Daniel Lincoln , United States 8:19.62 q
5. Ali Ezzine , Morocco 8:20.18 q
6. Eliseo Martin , Spain 8:21.88 q
7. Radoslaw Poplawski , Poland 8:22.16 q SB
8. Martin Proell , Austria 8:26.01
9. Ion Luchianov , Republic of Moldova 8:26.17 NR
10. Bostjan Buc , Slovenia 8:37.29
11. Pavel Potapovich , Russia 8:52.65
12. Giuseppe Maffei , Italy DNF
13. Roberto Caraciolo Mandje , Equatorial Guinea DNS
14. Lotfi Turki , Tunisia DNS

Heat 2

1. Brimin Kipruto , Kenya 8:15.11 Q
2. Simon Vroemen , Netherlands 8:15.28 Q SB
3. Luis Miguel Martin , Spain 8:16.90 Q
4. Mustafa Mohamed , Sweden 8:19.37 q
5. Vincent Ledauphin , France 8:20.13 q
6. Jan Zakrzewski , Poland 8:23.72
7. Roman Usov , Russia 8:24.19
8. Vadym Slobodenyuk , Ukraine 8:24.84 PB
9. Abdelatif Chemlal , Morocco 8:29.36
10. Tewodros Shiferaw , Ethiopia 8:33.15
11. Abdelhakim Maazouz , Algeria 8:36.12
12. Robert Gary , United States 8:38.01
13. Ruben Ramolefi , South Africa 8:46.17
14. Bashir Ibrahim , Kuwait 8:48.65 NR

Heat 3

1. Musa Amer , Qatar 8:23.94 - Q
2. Antonio David Jimenez , Spain 8:24.13 Q
3. Paul Kipsiele Koech , Kenya 8:24.68 Q
4. Zouhair Ouerdi , Morocco 8:27.55
5. Justin Chaston , Great Britain 8:28.35
6. Yoshitaka Iwamizu , Japan 8:29.07
7. Peter Nowill , Australia 8:29.14
8. Anthony Famiglietti , United States 8:31.59
9. Alexander Greaux , Puerto Rico 8:33.62
10. Jim Svenøy , Norway 8:33.97
11. Manuel Silva , Portugal 8:38.31
12. Luleseged Wale , Ethiopia 8:50.73
13. Jakub Czaja , Poland 8:56.24

Final

1. Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya 8:05.81 SB
2. Brimin Kipruto, Kenya 8:06.11
3. Paul Kipsiele Koech, Kenya 8:06.64
4. Musa Amer, Qatar 8:07.18 PB
5. Luis Miguel Martin, Spain 8:11.64 SB
6. Simon Vroemen, Netherlands 8:13.25 SB
7. Bouabdallah Tahri, France 8:14.26 SB
8. Ali Ezzine, Morocco 8:15.58
9. Eliseo Martin, Spain 8:15.77 SB
10. Vincent Ledauphin, France 8:16.15 SB
11. Daniel Lincoln, United States 8:16.86
12. Radoslaw Poplawski, Poland 8:17.32 PB
13. Mustafa Mohamed, Sweden 8:18.05 PB
14. Antonio David Jimenez, Spain 8:22.63
15. Khamis Abdullah Saifeldin, Qatar 8:36.66