1988 Soviet Top League

The 1988 season was the 51st completed season of the USSR Football Championship: Top League. Spartak Moscow, the defending 11-times champions, placed fourth this season.

Promoted teams

 * FC Chernomorets Odessa – champion (returning after a season)
 * FC Lokomotiv Moscow – 2nd place (returning after seven seasons)

Final standings
Promotion
 * Pamir Dushanbe ( Tajik SSR)
 * Rotor Volgograd ( Russian SFSR)

Top scorers

 * 16 goals
 * Aleksandr Borodyuk (Dynamo Moscow)
 * Yevhen Shakhov (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk)


 * 15 goals
 * Mikhail Rusyayev (Lokomotiv Moscow)


 * 12 goals
 * Sergei Rodionov (Spartak Moscow)


 * 11 goals
 * Oleh Protasov (Dynamo Kyiv)


 * 10 goals
 * Mashalla Akhmedov (Neftchi)
 * Ihor Petrov (Shakhtar Donetsk)


 * 9 goals
 * Sergei Dmitriyev (Zenit)
 * Vladimir Grechnev (Torpedo Moscow)
 * Gija Guruli (Dinamo Tbilisi)
 * Volodymyr Lyutyi (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk)
 * Arminas Narbekovas (Žalgiris)
 * Andrei Rudakov (Torpedo Moscow)

Clean sheets

 * 14 matches
 * Valeri Sarychev (Torpedo Moscow)


 * 12 matches
 * Valeriy Horodov (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk)


 * 11 matches
 * Stanislav Cherchesov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
 * Aleksandr Podshivalov (Ararat Yerevan)
 * Viktor Chanov (Dynamo Kyiv)


 * 10 matches
 * Rinat Dasayev (Spartak Moscow)


 * 9 matches
 * Otar Gabelia (Dinamo Tbilisi)
 * Andrei Satsunkevich (Dinamo Minsk)


 * 7 matches
 * Mikhail Biryukov (Zenit Leningrad)

Medal squads
(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)