| 1981 World Freestyle Championships | |
|---|---|
| Host city |  Skopje, Yugoslavia |
| Dates | 11–14 September |
| Champions | |
| Freestyle |  Soviet Union |
| 1981 World Greco-Roman Championships | |
|---|---|
| Host city |  Oslo, Norway |
| Dates | 28–30 August |
| Champions | |
| Greco-Roman | Soviet Union |
The following is the final results of the 1981 World Wrestling Championships. Freestyle competition were held in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) and Greco-Roman competition were held in Oslo, Norway.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 12 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
| 2 |  West Germany | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 |  Bulgaria | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 | Yugoslavia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 |  Japan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 United States | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 7 |  East Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Hungary | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 9 |  Finland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
 Poland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 11 |  Czechoslovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Iran | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 South Korea | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sweden | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Turkey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 |  Romania | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 17 |  Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Mongolia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (18 entries) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 60 | |
| Rank | Men's freestyle | Men's Greco-Roman | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Points | Team | Points | |
| 1 | Soviet Union |
42 | Soviet Union |
49 |
| 2 | Bulgaria |
33 | Hungary |
23 |
| 3 |  United States |
28 | Finland |
21 |
| 4 | East Germany |
17 | Bulgaria |
18 |
| 5 | Iran |
17 | Poland |
17 |
| 6 | Japan |
15 | Yugoslavia |
15 |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 kg | Sergey Kornilayev Soviet Union
|
Son Gab-do South Korea
|
William Rosado United States
|
| 52 kg | Toshio Asakura Japan
|
Hartmut Reich East Germany
|
Nanzadyn Büregdaa Mongolia
|
| 57 kg | Sergey Beloglazov Soviet Union
|
Stefan Ivanov Bulgaria
|
Hideaki Tomiyama Japan
|
| 62 kg | Simeon Shterev Bulgaria
|
Marian Skubacz Poland
|
Viktor Alekseev Soviet Union
|
| 68 kg | Saypulla Absaidov Soviet Union
|
Šaban Sejdi Yugoslavia
|
Kamen Penev Bulgaria
|
| 74 kg | Martin Knosp West Germany
|
Valentin Raychev Bulgaria
|
Leroy Kemp United States
|
| 82 kg | Chris Campbell United States
|
Efraim Kamberov Bulgaria
|
Grigory Danko Soviet Union
|
| 90 kg | Sanasar Oganisyan Soviet Union
|
Ivan Ginov Bulgaria
|
Uwe Neupert East Germany
|
| 100 kg | Roland Gehrke East Germany
|
Greg Gibson United States
|
Ilya Mate Soviet Union
|
| +100 kg | Salman Khasimikov Soviet Union
|
Reza Soukhtehsaraei Iran
|
Adam Sandurski Poland
|
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 kg | Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Soviet Union
|
Salih Bora Turkey
|
Fumikazu Sasaki Japan
|
| 52 kg | Vakhtang Blagidze Soviet Union
|
Atsuji Miyahara Japan
|
Lajos Rácz Hungary
|
| 57 kg | Pasquale Passarelli West Germany
|
Josef Krysta Czechoslovakia
|
Ilpo Seppälä Finland
|
| 62 kg | István Tóth Hungary
|
Ryszard Świerad Poland
|
Pertti Ukkola Finland
|
| 68 kg | Gennady Ermilov Soviet Union
|
Tapio Sipilä Finland
|
Ștefan Rusu Romania
|
| 74 kg | Aleksandr Kudryavtsev Soviet Union
|
Mikko Huhtala Finland
|
Karolj Kasap Yugoslavia
|
| 82 kg | Gennady Korban Soviet Union
|
Momir Petković Yugoslavia
|
Ion Draica Romania
|
| 90 kg | Igor Kanygin Soviet Union
|
Frank Andersson Sweden
|
Franz Pitschmann Austria
|
| 100 kg | Mikhail Saladze Soviet Union
|
Tamás Gáspár Hungary
|
Roman Wrocławski Poland
|
| +100 kg | Refik Memišević Yugoslavia
|
Nikola Dinev Bulgaria
|
Evgeny Artyukhin Soviet Union
|