The 1988 World Karate Championships are the 9th edition of the World Karate Championships, and were held in Cairo, Egypt in October 1988.
| Host city |  Cairo, Egypt |
|---|---|
Medalists edit
Men edit
Women edit
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual kata | Yuki Mimura Japan
|
Hisami Yokoyama Japan
|
Kathy Jones United States
|
| Team kata | Japan
|
 United States
|
 Italy
|
| Kumite −53 kg | Yuko Hasama Japan
|
Catherine Girardet France
|
Mari Capechi Venezuela
|
Shirley Graham Great Britain
| |||
| Kumite −60 kg | Akemi Kimura Japan
|
Junko Kurata Japan
|
Gina Halteman United States
|
Ruth Hahn West Germany
| |||
| Kumite +60 kg | Guusje van Mourik Netherlands
|
Ylva Wickberg Sweden
|
Marie-Ange Legros France
|
| Marzia Sartirani Italy
|
Medal table edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 7 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| 2 | Great Britain | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | France | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Italy | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| 6 |  Spain | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Sweden | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | United States | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | West Germany | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 |  Norway | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Venezuela | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (11 entries) | 16 | 16 | 28 | 60 | |