Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1980s

: "For other uses of the term, please see the disambiguation page at Best sellers".This is a list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1980s, as determined by Publishers Weekly. The list features the most popular novels of each year from 1980 through 1989.

The standards set for inclusion in the lists - which, for example, lead to the exclusion of the novels in the Harry Potter series from the lists for the 1990s and 2000s - are currently unknown.

1980

# "The Covenant" by James A. Michener
# "The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum
# "Rage of Angels" by Sidney Sheldon
# "Princess Daisy" by Judith Krantz
# "Firestarter" by Stephen King
# "The Key to Rebecca" by Ken Follett
# "Random Winds" by Belva Plain
# "The Devil's Alternative" by Frederick Forsyth
# "The Fifth Horseman" by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
# "The Spike" by Arnaud de Borchgrave and Robert Moss

1981

# "Noble House" by James Clavell
# "The Hotel New Hampshire" by John Irving
# "Cujo" by Stephen King
# "An Indecent Obsession" by Colleen McCullough
# "Gorky Park" by Martin Cruz Smith
# "Masquerade" by Kit Williams
# "Goodbye, Janette" by Harold Robbins
# "The Third Deadly Sin" by Lawrence Sanders
# "The Glitter Dome" by Joseph Wambaugh
# "No Time for Tears" by Cynthia Freeman

1982

# "E.T., The Extra-terrestrial" by William Kotzwinkle
# "Space" by James A. Michener
# "The Parsifal Mosaic" by Robert Ludlum
# "Master of the Game" by Sidney Sheldon
# "Mistral's Daughter" by Judith Krantz
# "The Valley of Horses" by Jean M. Auel
# "Different Seasons" by Stephen King
# "North and South" by John Jakes
# "" by Arthur C. Clarke
# "The Man from St. Petersburg" by Ken Follett

1983

# "" by James Kahn
# "Poland" by James A. Michener
# "Pet Sematary" by Stephen King
# "The Little Drummer Girl" by John le Carré
# "Christine" by Stephen King
# "Changes" by Danielle Steel
# "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco
# "White Gold Wielder" by Stephen R. Donaldson
# "Hollywood Wives" by Jackie Collins
# "The Lonesome Gods" by Louis L'Amour

1984

# "The Talisman" by Stephen King and Peter Straub
# "The Aquitaine Progression" by Robert Ludlum
# "The Sicilian" by Mario Puzo
# "Love and War" by John Jakes
# "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss
# "...And the Ladies of the Club" by Helen Hooven Santmyer
# "The Fourth Protocol" by Frederick Forsyth
# "Full Circle" by Danielle Steel
# "The Life and Hard Times of Heidi Abromowitz" by Joan Rivers
# "Lincoln" by Gore Vidal

1985

# "The Mammoth Hunters" by Jean M. Auel
# "Texas" by James A. Michener
# "Lake Wobegon Days" by Garrison Keillor
# "If Tomorrow Comes" by Sidney Sheldon
# "Skeleton Crew" by Stephen King
# "Secrets" by Danielle Steel
# "Contact" by Carl Sagan
# "Lucky" by Jackie Collins
# "Family Album" by Danielle Steel
# "Jubal Sackett" by Louis L'Amour

1986

# "It" by Stephen King
# "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond
# "Whirlwind" by James Clavell
# "The Bourne Supremacy" by Robert Ludlum
# "Hollywood Husbands" by Jackie Collins
# "Wanderlust" by Danielle Steel
# "I'll Take Manhattan" by Judith Krantz
# "Last of the Breed" by Louis L'Amour
# "The Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy
# "A Perfect Spy" by John le Carré

1987

# "The Tommyknockers" by Stephen King
# "Patriot Games" by Tom Clancy
# "Kaleidoscope" by Danielle Steel
# "Misery" by Stephen King
# "Leaving Home" by Garrison Keillor
# "Windmills of the Gods" by Sidney Sheldon
# "Presumed Innocent" by Scott Turow
# "Fine Things" by Danielle Steel
# "Heaven and Hell" by John Jakes
# "The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King

1988

# "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" by Tom Clancy
# "The Sands of Time" by Sidney Sheldon
# "Zoya" by Danielle Steel
# "The Icarus Agenda" by Robert Ludlum
# "Alaska" by James A. Michener
# "Till We Meet Again" by Judith Krantz
# "The Queen of the Damned" by Anne Rice
# "To Be the Best" by Barbara Taylor Bradford
# "One" by Richard Bach
# "Mitla Pass" by Leon Uris

1989

# "Clear and Present Danger" by Tom Clancy
# "The Dark Half" by Stephen King
# "Daddy" by Danielle Steel
# "Star" by Danielle Steel
# "Caribbean" by James A. Michener
# "The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie
# "The Russia House" by John le Carré
# "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet
# "California Gold" by John Jakes
# "While My Pretty One Sleeps" by Mary Higgins Clark