| Club: | Reading |
| Season: | 1985–86 |
| Manager: | Ian Branfoot |
| League: | Football League Third Division |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Fourth round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | First round |
| Cup3: | Associate Members Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | First round |
| League Topscorer: | Trevor Senior (27) |
| Season Topscorer: | Trevor Senior (31) |
| Pattern La1: | _navyborder |
| Pattern B1: | _whitevertical |
| Pattern Ra1: | _navyborder |
| Pattern So1: | _sky_blue_on_top |
| Leftarm1: | 61cdf9 |
| Body1: | 61cdf9 |
| Rightarm1: | 61cdf9 |
| Shorts1: | 000066 |
| Socks1: | 000066 |
| Prevseason: | 1984–85 |
| Nextseason: | 1986–87 |
During the 1985–86 English football season, Reading F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division where they finished in 1st position with 94 points. Reading set a new league record during the season for the most consecutive wins from the start of a season (13).
Reading's score comes first
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 August 1985 | Blackpool | H | 1–0 | Williams | |
| 2 | 24 August 1985 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–0 | Senior | |
| 3 | 26 August 1985 | Bristol Rovers | H | 3–2 | Bater (o.g.), Hicks, Horrix | |
| 4 | 31 August 1985 | Cardiff City | A | 3–1 | Senior (3) | |
| 5 | 7 September 1985 | Walsall | H | 2–1 | Brazier (o.g.), Senior | |
| 6 | 14 September 1985 | Rotherham United | A | 2–1 | Rogers, White | |
| 7 | 17 September 1985 | Brentford | A | 2–1 | Peters, Senior | |
| 8 | 21 September 1985 | Swansea City | H | 2–0 | Horrix, Senior | |
| 9 | 28 September 1985 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1–0 | White | |
| 10 | 2 October 1985 | Chesterfield | H | 4–2 | Senior (3), Williams | |
| 11 | 5 October 1985 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | Wood | |
| 12 | 12 October 1985 | Newport County | A | 2–0 | Beavon, Bremner | |
| 13 | 19 October 1985 | Lincoln City | A | 1–0 | Senior | |
| 14 | 23 October 1985 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–2 | Bremner, Senior | |
| 15 | 26 October 1985 | Bury | A | 1–3 | Rogers | |
| 16 | 2 November 1985 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1–0 | Williams | |
| 17 | 6 November 1985 | Notts County | H | 3–1 | Bremner (2), Senior | |
| 18 | 9 November 1985 | York City | A | 1–0 | ||
| 19 | 23 November 1985 | Darlington | H | 0–2 | ||
| 20 | 30 November 1985 | Derby County | A | 1–1 | Gilkes | |
| 21 | 14 December 1985 | Bristol City | H | 1–0 | Gilkes | |
| 22 | 21 December 1985 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 4–3 | ||
| 23 | 26 December 1985 | Bournemouth | A | 1–0 | ||
| 24 | 28 December 1985 | Bristol Rovers | A | 2–0 | Senior, Rogers | |
| 25 | 1 January 1986 | Gillingham | H | 1–2 | Horrix | |
| 26 | 11 January 1986 | Cardiff City | H | 1–1 | ||
| 27 | 18 January 1986 | Blackpool | A | 0–0 | ||
| 28 | 1 February 1986 | Walsall | A | 0–6 | ||
| 29 | 22 February 1986 | Swansea City | A | 3–2 | Senior, Beavon (2) | |
| 30 | 4 March 1986 | Chesterfield | A | 4–3 | Senior (2), Peters, Williams | |
| 31 | 8 March 1986 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | ||
| 32 | 12 March 1986 | Lincoln City | H | 0–2 | ||
| 33 | 15 March 1986 | Newport County | H | 2–0 | Wood, Hicks | |
| 34 | 19 March 1986 | Rotherham United | H | 2–1 | Wood, Senior | |
| 35 | 22 March 1986 | Bury | H | 2–0 | Senior, Horrix | |
| 36 | 29 March 1986 | Gillingham | A | 0–3 | ||
| 37 | 31 March 1986 | Bournemouth | H | 1–2 | Senior | |
| 38 | 5 April 1986 | Notts County | A | 0–0 | ||
| 39 | 8 April 1986 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 3–2 | Rogers (2), White | |
| 40 | 12 April 1986 | York City | H | 0–0 | ||
| 41 | 16 April 1986 | Brentford | H | 3–1 | Senior (2), Wood | |
| 42 | 19 April 1986 | Darlington | A | 0–0 | ||
| 43 | 22 April 1986 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–1 | ||
| 44 | 26 April 1986 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | Senior | |
| 45 | 3 May 1986 | Bristol City | A | 0–3 | ||
| 46 | 5 May 1986 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–0 | Senior (2) |
See main article: 1985–86 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 16 November 1985 | Wealdstone | H | 1–0 | Horrix (pen) | |
| R2 | 7 December 1985 | Hereford United | H | 2–0 | Senior, Horrix | |
| R3 | 4 January 1986 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–0 | ||
| R3 Replay | 13 January 1986 | Huddersfield Town | H | 2–1 | Senior (2) | |
| R4 | 25 January 1986 | Bury | H | 1–1 | Senior | |
| R4 Replay | 28 January 1986 | Bury | A | 0–3 |
See main article: 1985–86 Football League Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 1st Leg | 21 August 1985 | Bournemouth | H | 1–3 | Rogers | |
| R1 2nd Leg | 3 September 1985 | Bournemouth | A | 0–2 |
| Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 A | Bournemouth | A | 0–5 | ||
| R1 B | Leyton Orient | H | 0–3 |
|}
| width=60 | Place | width=60 | Position | width=60 | Nation | width=60 | Number | width=150 | Name | width=80 | Division Three | width=80 | FA Cup | width=80 | League Cup | width=80 | Members Cup | width=80 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 31 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | FW | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | FW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| = | DF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| = | MF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 9 | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| = | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| = | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| = | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| TOTALS | 67 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 74 | ||||||||||||||