See main article: article and 1981 US Open (tennis).
Wendy Turnbull and Marty Riessen were the defending champions but lost in the first round to Wendy White and Mike Bauer.
Anne Smith and Kevin Curren won in the final 6–4, 7–6(7–4) against JoAnne Russell and Steve Denton.
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.