| Tourney Name: | Copa Libertadores de América |
| Year: | 1981 |
| Dates: | March 18 – November 23 |
| Num Teams: | 21 |
| Associations: | 10 |
| Champion Other: |  Flamengo |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second Other: |  Cobreloa |
| Matches: | 77 |
| Goals: | 221 |
| Top Scorer: | Zico (11 goals) |
| Prevseason: | 1980 |
| Nextseason: | 1982 |
The 1981 Copa Libertadores was won by Flamengo of Brazil, who beat Cobreloa of Chile in the finals, without losing a match in their campaign on the way to win their first title.
| Country | Team | Qualify method |
|---|---|---|
| CONMEBOL (1 berth) | Nacional | 1980 Copa Libertadores champion |
2 berths | Rosario Central | 1981 Campeonato Nacional champions |
| River Plate | 1981 Campeonato Metropolitano champions | |
2 berths | 1980 Primera División champion | |
| The Strongest | 1980 Primera División runner-up | |
2 berths | Flamengo | 1980 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A champion |
| Atlético Mineiro | 1980 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2nd place | |
2 berths | Cobreloa | 1980 Primera División champion |
| Universidad de Chile | 1980 Liguilla Pre-Copa Libertadores winner | |
2 berths | Junior | 1980 Campeonato Profesional champion |
| Deportivo Cali | 1980 Campeonato Profesional runner-up | |
2 berths | Barcelona | 1980 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A champion |
| Técnico Universitario | 1980 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A runner-up | |
2 berths | Olimpia | 1980 Primera División champion |
| Cerro Porteño | 1980 Primera División runner-up | |
2 berths | Sporting Cristal | 1980 Torneo Descentralizado champion |
| Atlético Torino | 1980 Torneo Descentralizado runner-up | |
2 berths | 1980 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores winner | |
| Bella Vista | 1980 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores runner-up | |
2 berths | Estudiantes de Mérida | 1980 Primera División champion |
| Portuguesa | 1980 Primera División runner-up | |
The champions and runners-up of each football association were drawn into the same group along with another football association's participating teams. Three clubs from Uruguay competed as Nacional was champion of the 1980 Copa Libertadores. They entered the tournament in the Semifinals.
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See main article: 1981 Copa Libertadores Finals.
| width=25 | ! | width=25 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 20 | Raul | |||
| RB | 19 | Nei Dias | |||
| CB | 4 | Marinho | |||
| CB | 14 | Mozer | |||
| LB | 5 | Júnior | |||
| DM | 6 | ||||
| MF | 2 | Leandro | |||
| AM | 10 | Zico (c) | |||
| FW | 12 | Tita | |||
| CF | 9 | ||||
| FW | 8 | Adílio | |||
| Substitutes: | |||||
| FW | 25 | ||||
| Manager: | |||||
| Paulo César Carpegiani | |||||
| width=25 | ! | width=25 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Oscar Wirth | ||
| RB | 2 | Hugo Tabilo | ||
| CB | 3 | |||
| CB | 4 | Mario Soto (c) | ||
| LB | 20 | Enzo Escobar | ||
| DM | 6 | |||
| CM | 14 | |||
| CM | 8 | Victor Merello | ||
| RW | 11 | Héctor Puebla | ||
| CF | 9 | |||
| LW | 15 | Washington Olivera | ||
| Substitutes: | ||||
| FW | 7 | |||
| Manager: | ||||
 Vicente Cantatore | ||||
Man of the Match:
Assistant referees: