The first world record in the 100 metres sprint for women was recognised by the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) in 1922. The FSFI was absorbed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1936. The current record is 10.49 seconds set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.

To June 21, 2009, the IAAF (and the FSFI before it) have ratified 43 world records in the event.^[1]

The "Wind" column in the table below indicates the wind assistance in metres per second. 2.0 m/s is the current maximum allowable, and a negative value indicates that the mark was set against a headwind. the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th or 100th of a second, depending on the rules then in place. A "y" indicates a distance measured in yards and ratified as a world record in this event.

Time	Wind	Auto	Athlete	Nationality	Location	Date
13.6			Marie Mejzlíková	Czechoslovakia	Prague, Czechoslovakia	August 5, 1922[1]
12.8			Mary Lines	United Kingdom	Paris, France	August 20, 1922[1]
12.7 (110y)			Emmi Haux	Germany	Frankfurt, Germany	May 21, 1923
12.8			Marie Mejzlíková	Czechoslovakia	Prague, Czechoslovakia	May 13, 1923
12.4			Leni Schmidt	Germany	Leipzig, Germany	August 30, 1925
12.2 (110y)			Leni Junker		Wiesbaden, Germany	September 13, 1925
12.4			Gundel Wittmann	Germany	Braunschweig, Germany	August 22, 1926[1]
12.2			Leni Junker	Germany	Hanover, Germany	August 29, 1926
12.1 (110y)			Gertrud Gladitsch		Stuttgart, Germany	July 3, 1927
12.2			Kinue Hitomi	Japan	Osaka, Japan	May 20, 1928[1]
12.0			Betty Robinson	United States	Chicago, Illinois, United States	June 2, 1928
12.0			Myrtle Cook	Canada	Halifax, Canada	July 2, 1928[1]
12.0			Leni Junker	Germany	Magdeburg, Germany	August 1, 1931
12.0			Tollien Schuurman	Netherlands	Amsterdam, Netherlands	August 31, 1930[1]
11.9					Haarlem, Netherlands	June 5, 1932[1]
11.9			Stanisława Walasiewicz[2]	Poland	Los Angeles, United States	August 1, 1932[1]
11.9			Hilda Strike	Canada	Los Angeles, United States	August 2, 1932
11.8			Stanisława Walasiewicz[2]	Poland	Poznań, Poland	September 17, 1933[1]
11.9			Käthe Krauß	Germany	London, England	August 11, 1934
11.7			Stanisława Walasiewicz[2]	Poland	Warsaw, Poland	August 26, 1934[1]
11.9			Helen Stephens	United States	Fulton, United States	April 10, 1935
11.8					Saint Louis, United States	June 1, 1935
11.6			Helen Stephens	United States	Kansas City, United States	June 8, 1935[1]
11.5			Helen Stephens	United States	Dresden, Germany	August 10, 1936
11.6			Stanisława Walasiewicz[2]	Poland	Berlin, Germany	August 1, 1937[1]
11.5			Lulu Mae Hymes	United States	Tuskegee	May 6, 1939
11.5			Rowena Harrison
11.5			Fanny Blankers-Koen	Netherlands	Amsterdam, Netherlands	September 5, 1943
11.5			Fanny Blankers-Koen	Netherlands	Amsterdam, Netherlands	June 13, 1948[1]
11.5	1.7	11.65	Marjorie Jackson	Australia	Helsinki, Finland	July 22, 1952
11.4	1.7				Gifu, Japan	October 4, 1952[1]
11.3	1.4		Shirley Strickland		Warsaw, Poland	August 4, 1955
11.3	1.4		Vera Krepkina	Soviet Union	Kyiv, Soviet Union	September 13, 1958[1]
11.3	0.8	11.41	Wilma Rudolph	United States	Rome, Italy	September 2, 1960[1]
11.2	0.7				Stuttgart, West Germany	July 19, 1961[1]
11.2	0.2	11.23	Wyomia Tyus		Tokyo, Japan	October 15, 1964[1]
11.1	2.0		Ewa Kłobukowska	Poland	Prague, Czechoslovakia	July 9, 1965[note 1][3]: 247
11.1	2.0		Irena Kirszenstein		Prague, Czechoslovakia	July 9, 1965[1]
11.1	0.2		Wyomia Tyus	United States	Kyiv, Soviet Union	July 31, 1965[1]
11.1	0.3		Barbara Ferrell		Santa Barbara, United States	July 2, 1967[1]
11.1			Wyomia Tyus	United States	Mexico City, Mexico	April 21, 1968
11.1	0.0		Lyudmila Samotyosova	Soviet Union	Leninakan, Soviet Union	August 15, 1968[1]
11.1			Margaret Bailes	United States	Aurora, Philippines	August 18, 1968
11.1			Barbara Ferrell		Mexico City, Mexico	October 14, 1968
11.1	1.8	11.20	Irena Szewińska	Poland	Mexico City, Mexico	October 14, 1968[1]
11.0	1.2	11.08 (adjusted)	Wyomia Tyus	United States		October 15, 1968[1]
11.0	1.9	11.22	Chi Cheng	Republic of China (Taiwan)	Vienna, Austria	July 18, 1970[1]
11.0	1.9		Renate Meißner	East Germany	Berlin, East Germany	August 2, 1970[1]
11.0	1.7		Renate Stecher (née Meißner)			July 31, 1971[1]
11.0	−1.5				Potsdam, East Germany	June 3, 1972[1]
11.0	1.9		Ellen Strophal			June 15, 1972[1]
11.0	1.4		Eva Glesková	Czechoslovakia	Budapest, Hungary	July 1, 1972[1]
10.9	1.9		Renate Stecher (née Meißner)	East Germany	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia	June 7, 1973[1]
10.9			Renate Stecher (née Meißner)	East Germany	Leipzig, East Germany	June 30, 1973
10.8	1.8	11.07	Renate Stecher (née Meißner)	East Germany	Dresden, East Germany	July 20, 1973[1]

From 1975, the IAAF accepted separate automatically electronically timed records for events up to 400 metres. Starting January 1, 1977, the IAAF required fully automatic timing to the hundredth of a second for these events.^[1]

Wyomia Tyus's 1968 Olympic gold medal performance and Renate Stecher's 1972 Olympic championship win, both in 11.07, were the fastest recorded fully electronic 100-metre races to that time and were ratified as world records. However, Tyus's 11.07 was later adjusted to 11.08.^[1]

Time	Wind	Athlete	Nationality	Location	Date
11.07	1.2	Wyomia Tyus	United States	Mexico City, Mexico	October 15, 1968[1]
11.07	0.2	Renate Stecher (née Meißner)	East Germany	Munich, West Germany	September 2, 1972[1]
11.04	0.6	Inge Helten	West Germany	Fürth, West Germany	June 13, 1976[1]
11.01	0.6	Annegret Richter		Montreal, Canada	July 25, 1976[1]
10.88	2.0	Marlies Oelsner	East Germany	Dresden, East Germany	July 1, 1977[1]
10.88	1.9	Marlies Göhr		Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany	July 9, 1982[1]
10.81	1.7			Berlin, East Germany	June 8, 1983[1]
10.79	0.6	Evelyn Ashford	United States	US Air Force Academy, United States	July 3, 1983[1]
10.76	1.7			Zürich, Switzerland	August 22, 1984[1]
10.49	0.0*	Florence Griffith-Joyner		Indianapolis, United States	July 16, 1988[1]

^*There is controversy over Griffith-Joyner's world record as questions have been raised as to whether the wind actually was zero, as indicated by the trackside anemometer. The triple-jump anemometer, some 10 metres away, read 4.3 m/s, more than double the acceptable limit.^[4] Despite the controversy, the record was ratified by the IAAF.

Had this mark been ignored, the progression would have continued as follows:^[3]: 250

Time	Wind	Athlete	Nationality	Location	Date
10.70	1.6	Florence Griffith-Joyner	United States	Indianapolis, United States	July 17, 1988[3]
10.61	1.2
10.61	−0.6	Elaine Thompson-Herah	Jamaica	Tokyo, Japan	July 31, 2021[5]
10.54	0.9			Eugene, United States	August 21, 2021[6]

• Men's 100 metres world record progression
• Sprints