The women's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships took place between 29 July – 30 July. The heats and semifinals were held on 29 July. The final was held on 30 July.

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and championship records were as follows.

	Name	Nationality	Time	Location	Date
World record	Krisztina Egerszegi Krisztina Egerszegi Krisztina Egerszegi is a Hungarian former world record holding swimmer and one of the greatest Hungarian Olympic champions of the modern era...	Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...	2:06.62	Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...	25 August 1991
Championship record	Cihong He	China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...	2:07.40	Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...	11 September 1994

No new world or competition records were set during this competition.

Semifinals

Rank	Heat	Lane	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	1	4	Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry is a Zimbabwean swimmer and world record holder. She attended and swam competitively for Auburn University in Alabama, in the United States...		2:09.88
2	1	3	Reiko Nakamura Reiko Nakamura is a Japanese Olympic and Asian record-holding swimmer. She swam in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, winning the bronze medals in the 200m backstroke at both editions....		2:11.17
3	2	5	Margaret Hoelzer Margaret Hoelzer Margaret Hoelzer is an American swimmer who competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.-Biography:...		2:11.32
4	1	5	Stanislava Komarova Stanislava Komarova Stanislava Stanislavovna Komarova is a Russian swimmer. She won the silver medal in the 200 m backstroke at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.Komarova is one of the few modern swimmers who competes without goggles....		2:11.58
5	2	3	Louise Ørnstedt Louise Ørnstedt Louise Ørnstedt was a Danish backstroke swimmer who competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.She retired from swimming in August 2007 due to persistent shoulder problems.-References:*...		2:11.59
6	2	3	Hanae Ito Hanae Ito is a Japanese backstroke swimmer.-Major achievements:* 2005 World Championships – 100m backstroke 6th * 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – 100m backstroke 1st * 2008 Beijing Olympics – 100m backstroke 8th -Personal bests:...		2:12.05
7	2	7	Alessia Filippi Alessia Filippi Alessia Filippi is an Italian swimmer.Filippi excels in backstroke and individual medley races, as well as in middle-distance freestyle ....		2:12.16
8	1	1	Zhao Jing Zhao Jing (swimmer) Zhao Jing is a female Chinese swimmer, who competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.-Records:*2006 Asian Championships - 28.50, 50 m back...		2:12.55
9	2	2	Hannah McLean Hannah McLean Hannah McLean is a New Zealand swimming competitor. She won a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.She also competed at the 2004 Olympic Games.-References:...		2:12.57
10	1	2	Iryna Amshennikova		2:12.64
11	2	1	Annika Liebs Annika Liebs Annika Liebs Lurz is an Olympic and former World Record-holding swimmer from Germany. She swam for her homeland at the 2008 Olympics....		2:13.35
12	1	6	Katy Sexton Katy Sexton Katy Sexton MBE is a British swimmer.One of her most significant achievements was becoming the first British female swimmer to win gold at the 2003 World Championships in the 200 m backstroke...		2:13.41
13	1	7	Jeri Moss		2:13.64
14	2	6	Tayliah Zimmer Tayliah Zimmer Tayliah Zimmer is an Australian swimmer.-References:...		2:14.68
15	2	8	Yanyan Chen		2:14.92
16	1	8	Duane Rocha		2:16.50

Final

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry is a Zimbabwean swimmer and world record holder. She attended and swam competitively for Auburn University in Alabama, in the United States...		2:08.52
	Margaret Hoelzer Margaret Hoelzer Margaret Hoelzer is an American swimmer who competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.-Biography:...		2:09.94
	Reiko Nakamura Reiko Nakamura is a Japanese Olympic and Asian record-holding swimmer. She swam in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, winning the bronze medals in the 200m backstroke at both editions....		2:10.41
4	Hanae Ito Hanae Ito is a Japanese backstroke swimmer.-Major achievements:* 2005 World Championships – 100m backstroke 6th * 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – 100m backstroke 1st * 2008 Beijing Olympics – 100m backstroke 8th -Personal bests:...		2:10.98
5	Alessia Filippi Alessia Filippi Alessia Filippi is an Italian swimmer.Filippi excels in backstroke and individual medley races, as well as in middle-distance freestyle ....		2:11.44
6	Stanislava Komarova Stanislava Komarova Stanislava Stanislavovna Komarova is a Russian swimmer. She won the silver medal in the 200 m backstroke at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.Komarova is one of the few modern swimmers who competes without goggles....		2:12.03
7	Louise Ørnstedt Louise Ørnstedt Louise Ørnstedt was a Danish backstroke swimmer who competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.She retired from swimming in August 2007 due to persistent shoulder problems.-References:*...		2:12.93
8	Zhao Jing Zhao Jing (swimmer) Zhao Jing is a female Chinese swimmer, who competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.-Records:*2006 Asian Championships - 28.50, 50 m back...		2:13.10