Gymnastics at the Friendship Games was contested in two disciplines. Artistic gymnastics was held in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, between 20 and 26 August 1984, with 14 events (8 men's and 6 women's). Rhythmic gymnastics was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, between 17 and 19 August 1984, with 5 events (all of them women's).
In the women's artistic all-around competition, Olga Mostepanova made history by becoming the first gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect 40.000 total score. With the abolition of the perfect-10 scoring system in 2006 in favor of open-ended scoring, it is very unlikely that any other elite gymnast will match Mostepanova's accomplishment.