The 1985–86 European Cup was the 31st season of UEFA's premier club football tournament, the European Cup. The European Champion Clubs' Cup was won by Steaua Bucharest on penalties in a final against Barcelona. Steaua became the first Eastern European side to win the tournament, mainly thanks to the heroics of their goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam, who after keeping a clean sheet in the final saved all four of Barcelona's penalties to win the cup.

No English club was entered into the competition this year, owing to a ban from European competition after the Heysel Stadium disaster. Had the ban not been imposed, then Everton would have represented England in the competition.

Juventus, the defending champions, were eliminated by Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

(w/o) Everton could not fulfill this fixture due to the ban on English clubs entering European competition following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

Bayern Munich won 6–2 on aggregate.

Austria Vienna won 4–1 on aggregate.

Omonia won 10–0 on aggregate.

The UEFA Champions League /juːˈeɪfə ˈtʃæmpiənz ˈliːɡ/ known simply as the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football. The final of the competition is the most watched annual sporting event worldwide, drawing over 300 million television viewers.

Prior to 1992, the tournament was officially called the "European Champion Clubs' Cup," but was usually referred to simply as the "European Cup." The competition was initially a straight knockout competition open only to the champion club of each country. During the 1990s, the tournament began to be expanded, incorporating a round-robin group phase and more teams. Europe's strongest national leagues now provide up to four teams each for the competition. The UEFA Champions League should not be confused with the UEFA Europa League, formerly known as the UEFA Cup.