1980–81 Eerste Divisie
The Dutch Eerste Divisie in the 1980–81 season was contested by 19 teams. HFC Haarlem won the championship.
New entrants
Relegated from the 1979–80 EredivisiePromotion competition
In the promotion competition, four period winners played for promotion to the eredivisie.Attendances
| # | Club | Average |
| 1 | Dordrecht | 5,111 |
| 2 | Fortuna | 4,806 |
| 3 | Heerenveen | 4,756 |
| 4 | Cambuur | 4,739 |
| 5 | Haarlem | 4,122 |
| 6 | De Graafschap | 3,511 |
| 7 | Vitesse | 3,272 |
| 8 | Helmond | 3,217 |
| 9 | Volendam | 3,122 |
| 10 | Eindhoven | 3,017 |
| 11 | Veendam | 2,917 |
| 12 | Den Bosch | 2,700 |
| 13 | SVV | 2,344 |
| 14 | Telstar | 2,300 |
| 15 | VVV | 2,234 |
| 16 | Amersfoort | 2,222 |
| 17 | Heracles | 2,183 |
| 18 | Vlaardingen | 1,289 |
| 19 | Amsterdam | 1,190 |
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