The 19th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Strasbourg, France, in 1978 from October 23 to October 29.

This was the first world championships to make use of video replays. A video control system was installed near each apparatus to help judges in disputable situations. The system had first been used at the 1977 European Championships.

For the first time eight gymnasts were allowed to qualify to each of the apparatus finals, rather than six. This became the standard going forward.

Kurt Thomas and Marica Frederick's gold medals were the first at world championship level for the American men and women.