| Season: | 1986 |
| Manager: |  Cilinho José Carlos Serrão (caretaker, until September 9) Pepe |
| Mgrtitle: | Manager |
| Chairman: | Carlos Miguel Aidar (re-elected in April 16) |
| Chrtitle: | Chairman |
| League: | Série A |
| League Result: | Winners (2nd title) (In 1987 Copa Libertadores) |
| Cup1: | Campeonato Paulista |
| Cup1 Result: | 6th |
| League Topscorer: | Careca (26) |
| Season Topscorer: | Careca (33) |
| Prevseason: | 1985 |
| Nextseason: | 1987 |
The 1986 season was São Paulo's 57th season since club's existence.
| width=60 | Position | width=60 | Nation | width=60 | Playing position | width=150 | Name | width=80 | Campeonato Paulista | width=80 | Campeonato Brasileiro | width=80 | Others | width=80 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | FW | Careca | 7 | 26 | 0 | 33 | ||||||||
| 2 | | FW | Müller | 6 | 10 | 1 | 17 | ||||||||
| 3 | | MF | Silas | 4 | 9 | 3 | 16 | ||||||||
| 4 | | FW | Manu | 12 | 1 | 0 | 13 | ||||||||
| 5 | | MF | Pita | 7 | 5 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||
| 6 | | MF | Bernardo | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||
| 7 | | MF | Pianelli | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||
| 8 | | FW | Freitas | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| = | | FW | Sídney | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||
| = | | DF | Wagner Basílio | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||
| = | | DF | Zé Teodoro | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||
| 9 | | DF | Nelsinho | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 10 | | DF | Capone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| = | DF | Darío Pereyra | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| = | | MF | Falcão | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| = | | FW | Marcelo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| = | | DF | Oscar | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| = | | FW | Wagner Lopes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| Total | 50 | 62 | 8 | 120 |
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cilinho | 33 | 8 | 19 | 6 | 41 | 34 | 53% | |||
| José Carlos Serrão (caretaker) | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 55% | |||
| Pepe | 33 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 64 | 21 | 69% | |||
| Games played | 80 (38 Campeonato Paulista, 34 Campeonato Brasileiro, 8 Friendly match) |
| Games won | 30 (11 Campeonato Paulista, 17 Campeonato Brasileiro, 2 Friendly match) |
| Games drawn | 38 (20 Campeonato Paulista, 13 Campeonato Brasileiro, 5 Friendly match) |
| Games lost | 12 (7 Campeonato Paulista, 4 Campeonato Brasileiro, 1 Friendly match) |
| Goals scored | 120 |
| Goals conceded | 64 |
| Goal difference | +56 |
| Best result | 6–1 (H) v Ponte Preta - Campeonato Brasileiro - 1986.12.10 |
| Worst result | 1–4 (A) v Juventus - Campeonato Paulista - 1986.4.16 |
| Top scorer | Careca (33) |