The World record progression 5,000 m speed skating women as recognised by the International Skating Union:
| Name | Result | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zofia Nehringowa | 11:30.5 | 15 February 1931 | Warsaw |
| Zofia Nehringowa | 10:54.8 | 10 February 1935 | Warsaw |
| Verné Lesche | 10:15.3 | 2 February 1936 | Stockholm |
| Laila Schou Nilsen | 9:28.3 | 31 January 1937 | Davos |
| Verné Lesche | 9:26.8 | 13 February 1949 | Kongsberg |
| Rimma Zhukova | 9:22.3 | 17 March 1950 | Kirov |
| Tatyana Karelina | 9:10.7 | 12 February 1951 | Medeo |
| Rimma Zhukova | 9:01.6 | 24 January 1953 | Medeo |
| Suspended as a world record event by the ISU between 1955 and 1982. | |||
| Andrea Schöne | 7:40.97 | 23 January 1983 | Heerenveen |
| Gabi Schönbrunn | 7:39.44 | 15 January 1984 | Medeo |
| Andrea Schöne | 7:34.52 | 24 March 1984 | Medeo |
| Andrea Schöne | 7:32.82 | 10 February 1985 | Sarajevo |
| Andrea Ehrig | 7:31.45 | 12 January 1986 | Geithus |
| Andrea Ehrig | 7:20.99 | 22 March 1986 | Medeo |
| Yvonne van Gennip | 7:20.36 | 20 March 1987 | Heerenveen |
| Yvonne van Gennip | 7:14.13 | 28 February 1988 | Calgary |
| Gunda Niemann | 7:13.29 | 6 December 1993 | Hamar |
| Gunda Niemann | 7:03.26 | 26 March 1994 | Calgary |
| Claudia Pechstein | 6:59.61 | 20 February 1998 | Nagano |
| Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 6:58.63 | 28 March 1998 | Calgary |
| Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 6:57.24 | 7 February 1999 | Hamar |
| Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 6:56.84 | 16 January 2000 | Hamar |
| Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 6:55.34 | 25 November 2000 | Heerenveen |
| Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 6:52.44 | 10 March 2001 | Salt Lake City |
| Claudia Pechstein | 6:46.91 | 23 February 2002 | Salt Lake City |
| Martina Sáblíková | 6:45.61 | 11 March 2007 | Salt Lake City |
| Martina Sáblíková | 6:42.66 | 18 February 2011 | Salt Lake City |