| Election Name: | 1988 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1984 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election |
| Previous Year: | 1984 |
| Next Election: | 1992 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
| Seats For Election: | All 18 seats to Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council |
| Majority Seats: | 10 |
| Registered: | 62,481 |
| Turnout: | 52.2% |
| Image1: | Lab |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Seats1: | 12 |
| Seat Change1: | 2 |
| Popular Vote1: | 15,701 |
| Percentage1: | 48.3% |
| Swing1: | 7.9 |
| Party2: | Scottish National Party |
| Seats2: | 3 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 10,349 |
| Percentage2: | 31.8% |
| Swing2: | 13.6 |
| Image3: | Con |
| Party3: | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Seats3: | 3 |
| Popular Vote3: | 6,098 |
| Percentage3: | 18.8% |
| Swing3: | 17.3 |
| Council Leader | |
| Before Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Posttitle: | Council Leader after election |
| After Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
Elections to Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council were held on 5 May 1988, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the fifth election to the district council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.
The election used the 10 wards created by the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1981. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.[1]
Labour maintained a large majority on the district council after winning 12 of the 18 seats however, it was two less than the previous election in 1984 and their vote share fell by 7.9% to below half. The Scottish National Party (SNP) became the joint second-largest party after gaining two seats to hold three while the Conservatives maintained their three seats on the council despite their vote share falling by 17.3%.