Themen's 1500 metres event at the2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held on March 9–10.
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Rui Silva Portugal | Reyes Estévez Spain | Noah Ngeny Kenya |
First 2 of each heat (Q) and the next 3 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Rui Silva | Portugal | 3:37.79 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Adil Kaouch |  Morocco | 3:37.90 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 1 | Reyes Estévez | Spain | 3:37.93 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Noah Ngeny | Kenya | 3:38.22 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Hailu Mekonnen |  Ethiopia | 3:38.41 | q |
| 6 | 1 | Julius Achon |  Uganda | 3:39.14 | q |
| 7 | 3 | Juan Carlos Higuero | Spain | 3:39.21 | q, PB |
| 8 | 3 | Vyacheslav Shabunin |  Russia | 3:39.40 | |
| 9 | 3 | Branko Zorko |  Croatia | 3:39.55 | SB |
| 10 | 1 | Jason Lunn |  United States | 3:40.42 | PB |
| 11 | 1 | Luis Feiteira | Portugal | 3:40.68 | SB |
| 12 | 1 | Peter Philipp |  Switzerland | 3:40.93 | |
| 13 | 1 | Hudson de Souza |  Brazil | 3:43.14 | |
| 14 | 3 | Marko Koers |  Netherlands | 3:43.17 | |
| 15 | 3 | Darko Radomirović |  Yugoslavia | 3:46.36 | |
| 16 | 2 | Laban Rotich | Kenya | 3:47.00 | Q |
| 17 | 2 | Seneca Lassiter | United States | 3:47.06 | Q |
| 18 | 2 | Kevin Sullivan |  Canada | 3:47.19 | |
| 19 | 2 | Daniel Zegeye | Ethiopia | 3:47.94 | |
| 20 | 3 | Clyde Colenso |  South Africa | 3:48.07 | |
| 21 | 2 | Kamal Boulahfane |  Algeria | 3:48.59 | |
| 22 | 2 | Aléxis Abraham |  France | 3:49.21 | |
| 23 | 2 | Youssef Baba | Morocco | 3:49.46 | |
| 24 | 2 | Jürgen Vandewiele |  Belgium | 3:53.42 | |
| 25 | 3 | Fortunato Yaccdob |  Eritrea | 3:56.31 | |
| 26 | 3 | Ismail Ahmed Ismail |  Sudan | 4:02.79 | |
| 27 | 2 | Saad Jalal Uddin |  Pakistan | 4:03.43 | |
| 28 | 2 | Youssouf Diallo |  Mali | 4:06.70 | |
| 1 | Alexis Sharangabo |  Rwanda | DNS |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Rui Silva | Portugal | 3:51.06 | |
 | Reyes Estévez | Spain | 3:51.25 | |
 | Noah Ngeny | Kenya | 3:51.63 | |
| 4 | Laban Rotich | Kenya | 3:51.71 | |
| 5 | Adil Kaouch | Morocco | 3:51.91 | |
| 6 | Seneca Lassiter | United States | 3:52.39 | |
| 7 | Hailu Mekonnen | Ethiopia | 3:52.72 | |
| 8 | Julius Achon | Uganda | 3:53.03 | |
| 9 | Juan Carlos Higuero | Spain | 3:56.71 |
