The men's 400 metres event at the 1971 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 13 and 14 March in Sofia. [1] [2]
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Andrzej Badeński | Boris Savchuk | Aleksandr Bratchikov |
Held on 13 March
First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andrzej Badeński | 48.4 | Q | |
| 2 | 1 | Lionel Malingre | 48.6 | Q | |
| 3 | 1 | Luis Sarría | 48.8 | ||
| 1 | 2 | Yevgeniy Borisenko | 48.6 | Q | |
| 2 | 2 | Peter Bernreuther | 48.7 | Q | |
| 3 | 2 | Krestyu Khristov | 49.0 | ||
| 1 | 3 | Aleksandr Bratchikov | 48.4 | Q | |
| 2 | 3 | Jan Balachowski | 48.4 | Q | |
| 3 | 3 | Ramon Magariños | 50.3 | ||
| 1 | 4 | Boris Savchuk | 48.3 | Q | |
| 2 | 4 | Manuel Gayoso | 48.7 | Q | |
| 3 | 4 | Gilles Bertould | 49.0 |
Held on 13 March
First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andrzej Badeński | 47.8 | Q | |
| 2 | 1 | Boris Savchuk | 48.2 | Q | |
| 3 | 1 | Peter Bernreuther | 48.9 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Lionel Malingre | 51.2 | ||
| 1 | 2 | Jan Balachowski | 48.6 | Q | |
| 2 | 2 | Aleksandr Bratchikov | 48.8 | Q | |
| 3 | 2 | Manuel Gayoso | 48.9 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Yevgeniy Borisenko | 49.9 |
Held on 14 March
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrzej Badeński | 46.8 | =AR | ||
| Boris Savchuk | 47.4 | |||
| Aleksandr Bratchikov | 47.6 | |||
| Jan Balachowski | DNS |