The Karnataka State Film Awards 1986–87, presented by Government of Karnataka, to felicitate the best of Kannada Cinema released in the year 1986.
From this year a new award namely Puttanna Kanagal Award is introduced to honor the Directors of Kannada Cinema.
| Name of Award | Film | Producer | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Best Film | Tabarana Kathe | Girish Kasaravalli | Girish Kasaravalli |
| Second Best Film | Surya | Nataraj Bellary | Baraguru Ramachandrappa |
| Third Best Film | Madhvacharya | Ananthalakshmi Films | G. V. Iyer |
| Name of Award | Film | Awardee(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Best Direction | Tabarana Kathe | Girish Kasaravalli |
| Best Actor | Tabarana Kathe | Charuhasan |
| Best Actress | Aruna Raaga | Geetha |
| Best Supporting Actor | Aaganthuka | Devaraj |
| Best Supporting Actress | Anand | Jayanthi |
| Best Child Actor | Tabarana Kathe | Santhosh |
| Madhvacharya | Srivathsa | |
| Best Cinematography | Surya | S. R. Bhat |
| Best Editing | Tabarana Kathe | M. N. Swamy |
| Best Sound Recording | Malaya Marutha | C. D. Vishwanath |
| Best Story Writer | Tabarana Kathe | K. P. Poornachandra Tejaswi |
| Best Screenplay | Anand | Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Chi. Udaya Shankar |
| Best Dialogue Writer | Tabarana Kathe | K. P. Poornachandra Tejaswi |
| Jury's Special Award | N. S. Rao (As Best Comedy Actor) | |