Police spokesman officer Albie Esparza says the victims were shot around 10 p.m. Friday in the Hayes Valley area of the city.
He says in a statement that all four died at the scene.
No arrests have been made and no other information was immediately available from police, including any word of a possible motive.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that city police alerted the California Highway Patrol that a vehicle possibly linked to the violence could be headed toward the Pacific Coast highway.