| Season: | 1985–86 |
| Chairman: | Stjepko Gugić, Dragan Krčelić |
| Chrtitle: | Chairman |
| League Result: | 5th |
| Cup1 Result: | Round 2 |
| League Topscorer: | Nebojša Malbaša (12) |
| Season Topscorer: | Nebojša Malbaša (14) |
| Highest Attendance: | 16,000 vs Hajduk Split (9 Mar 1986 - Yugoslav First League) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 2,000 vs Budućnost and Dinamo Vinkovci (6 October 1985 and 2 March 1986 - Yugoslav First League) |
| Average Attendance: | 5,588 |
| Nextseason: | 1986–87 |
The 1985–86 season was the 40th season in Rijeka's history and their 24th season in the Yugoslav First League. Their 8th place finish in the 1984–85 season meant it was their 12th successive season playing in the Yugoslav First League.
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Yugoslav First League | 11 August 1985 | 14 June 1986 | Matchday 1 | 5th | ||||||||
| Yugoslav Cup | 30 October 1985 | 20 November 1985 | First round | Second round | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||||
See main article: 1985–86 Yugoslav First League.
| Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Attendance | Rijeka Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 Aug | A | Dinamo Vinkovci | 1 – 2 | 3,000 | Gračan | |
| 2 | 18 Aug | A | Hajduk Split | 0 – 1 | 16,000 | ||
| 3 | 21 Aug | H | Dinamo Zagreb | 0 – 0 | 14,000 | ||
| 4 | 25 Aug | A | Željezničar | 1 – 3 | 5,000 | Gračan (p) | |
| 5 | 1 Sep | H | Sloboda | 3 – 0 | 4,000 | Gračan (2, 1p), Škerjanc | |
| 6 | 4 Sep | A | 3 – 1 | 4,000 | Matrljan (2), Janković | ||
| 7 | 8 Sep | H | Red Star | 1 – 1 | 15,000 | Valenčić | |
| 8 | 15 Sep | A | Vardar | 0 – 4 | 7,000 | ||
| 9 | 6 Oct | H | Budućnost | 1 – 0 | 2,000 | Valenčić | |
| 10 | 9 Oct | A | Sutjeska | 0 – 1 | 3,000 | ||
| 11 | 13 Oct | H | Priština | 0 – 1 | 4,000 | ||
| 12 | 20 Oct | A | Sarajevo | 1 – 2 | 1,500 | Janković (p) | |
| 13 | 27 Oct | H | Velež | 3 – 3 | 3,000 | Malbaša (3) | |
| 14 | 3 Nov | A | Osijek | 0 – 0 | 2,000 | ||
| 15 | 24 Nov | H | Partizan | 1 – 0 | 8,000 | Janković | |
| 16 | 1 Dec | A | Vojvodina | 0 – 0 | 4,000 | ||
| 17 | 8 Dec | H | Čelik | 1 – 1 | 3,000 | Janković (p) | |
| 18 | 2 Mar | H | Dinamo Vinkovci | 2 – 0 | 2,000 | Malbaša, Gračan | |
| 19 | 9 Mar | H | Hajduk Split | 3 – 0 | 16,000 | Janković, Malbaša (2) | |
| 20 | 16 Mar | A | Dinamo Zagreb | 0 – 0 | 15,000 | ||
| 21 | 23 Mar | H | Željezničar | 0 – 0 | 5,000 | ||
| 22 | 30 Mar | A | Sloboda | 2 – 2 | 3,000 | Gračan, Matrljan | |
| 23 | 6 Apr | H | OFK Beograd | 2 – 0 | 3,000 | Matrljan, Malbaša | |
| 24 | 12 Apr | A | Red Star | 1 – 1 | 6,000 | Kotur | |
| 25 | 20 Apr | H | Vardar | 2 – 0 | 4,000 | Matrljan, Malbaša | |
| 26 | 27 Apr | A | Budućnost | 1 – 2 | 7,000 | Malbaša | |
| 27 | 4 May | H | Sutjeska | 3 – 1 | 3,000 | Janković (p), Malbaša, Mladenović | |
| 28 | 7 May | A | Priština | 1 – 2 | 15,000 | Matrljan | |
| 29 | 18 May | H | Sarajevo | 2 – 0 | 3,000 | Kotur, Malbaša | |
| 30 | 25 May | A | Velež | 1 – 1 | 6,000 | Janković (p) | |
| 31 | 28 May | H | Osijek | 1 – 0 | 3,000 | Malbaša | |
| 32 | 1 Jun | A | Partizan | 1 – 1 | 10,000 | Mladenović | |
| 33 | 8 Jun | H | Vojvodina | 3 – 0 | 3,000 | Gračan, Matrljan, Janković | |
| 34 | 14 Jun | A | Čelik | 1 – 1 | 1,000 | Janković (p) |
See main article: 1985–86 Yugoslav Cup.
| Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Rijeka Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 30 Oct | H | Belasica | 4 – 1 | Janković (p), Matrljan, Malbaša (2) | |
| R2 | 20 Nov | A | Budućnost | 0 – 1 |
Competitive matches only.
Appearances in brackets indicate numbers of times the player came on as a substitute.