| Competition: | Russian First Division |
| Season: | 2008 |
| Prevseason: | 2007 |
| Nextseason: | 2009 |
The 2008 Russian First Division was the 17th edition of Russian First Division. There were 22 teams.
15 clubs placed 3–17 in 2007 Russian First Division, 2 clubs relegated from 2007 Russian Premier League and 5 zone winners from 2007 Russian Second Division took part in the league:
On 23 October 2008 FC Zvezda Irkutsk had to stop participation in the league due to lack of funds, their main sponsor Interavia airlines is having financial problems at the time.[1] Zvezda failed to fulfil four last fixtures.
