| Season: | 1986 |
| Nextseason: | 1987 |
The 1986 Soviet First League was the 47th season of the second tier of association football in the Soviet Union.
Note: 12 draws limit was applied during the season.
| Player | Club | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vazgen Manasyan | Pamir Dushanbe | 27 (3) |
| Besik Pridonishvili | Guria Lanchkhuti | 27 (6) | |
| 3 | Aleksandrs Starkovs | Daugava Riga | 22 |
| 4 | Sergei Okunev | Rostselmash Rostov-na-Donu | 21 (1) |
| Aleksandr Minayev | Fakel Voronezh | 21 (3) | |
| 6 | Aleksandr Gitselov | Rostselmash Rostov-na-Donu | 19 (1) |
| Sergei Berezin | CSKA Moscow | 19 (3) | |
| Yevhen Shakhov | Metallurg Zaporozhye | 19 (7) | |
| 9 | Mukhsin Mukhamadiev | Pamir Dushanbe | 18 |
| Vyacheslav Lendel | SKA Karpaty Lvov | 18 | |
| Genādijs Šitiks | Daugava Riga | 18 (5) |
| Rank | Union republic | Number of teams | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, Rostselmash Rostov-na-Donu, Rotor Volgograd, Fakel Voronezh, Kuzbass Kemerovo, Shinnik Yaroslavl, SKA Rostov-na-Donu, Spartak Vladikavkaz, Dinamo Stavropol, Kuban Krasnodar, SKA Khabarovsk, Iskra Smolensk | |
| 2 | 3 | SKA Karpaty Lvov, Kolos Nikopol, Metallurg Zaporozhye | |
| 3 | 2 | Guria Lanchkhuti, Dinamo Batumi | |
| 4 | 1 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | |
| Daugava Riga | |||
| Pamir Dushanbe | |||
| Kotaik Abovian | |||
| Atlantas Klapeida | |||
| Nistru Kishinev | |||