The eighty-ninth edition of the Sheffield Shield ran as a first-class cricket competition across Australia from 17 October 1980 to 10 March 1981. Six teams competed in a double round-robin format across twenty-five matches for the domestic title.
Western Australia claimed the championship for the eighth time after surging through the second half of the season with four consecutive victories. They secured the title by drawing against Queensland in their final fixture, holding off challenges from New South Wales and Queensland.
Queensland's Greg Chappell dominated the individual honours by winning the player of the series award and scoring the most runs with 906. Bruce Yardley of Western Australia led the bowling charts by taking 40 wickets.
| 17–20 October 1980 |
| Queensland (H) | v | New South Wales |
| 189 (66.5 overs)Greg Chappell 94Len Pascoe 4/38 (15.5 overs) | 5/304d (100 overs)Ian Davis 91*Carl Rackemann 3/43 (23 overs) | |
| 295 (84.3 overs)Greg Chappell 113Graeme Beard 3/61 (23 overs) | 0/37 (10 overs) |
| Match drawnBrisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane Umpires: Mick Harvey and Mel Johnson |
| 17–20 October 1980 |
| Victoria | v | Western Australia (H) |
| 183 (67.5 overs)Ray Bright 36Dennis Lillee 5/57 (25.5 overs) | 303 (110.2 overs)Graeme Wood 78Max Walker 4/82 (43.2 overs) | |
| 268 (92.4 overs)Shaun Graf 64Bruce Yardley 5/112 (37.4 overs) | 3/149 (34.3 overs)Rob Langer 75*Max Walker 2/44 (11 overs) |
| Western Australia won by 7 wicketsWACA, Perth Umpires: Peter McConnell and Don Weser |
| 23–26 October 1980 |
| New South Wales (H) | v | Western Australia |
| 3/340d (100 overs)Rick McCosker 168 | 176 (74.2 overs)Ken McEwan 41Geoff Lawson 4/34 (19.2 overs) | |
| 103 f/o (46.5 overs)Bruce Laird 24Bob Holland 4/30 (14 overs) |
| New South Wales won by an innings and 61 runsSydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Umpires: Rocky Harris and Arthur Watson |
| 23–26 October 1980 |
| Tasmania | v | South Australia (H) |
| 395 (124.1 overs)Brian Davison 126Wayne Prior 4/92 (21 overs) | 9/465d (130.5 overs)Peter Sleep 102*Stuart Saunders 4/154 (37.5 overs) | |
| 137 (64.3 overs)Roger Woolley 41*Ashley Mallett 3/25 (27 overs) | 4/68 (24.2 overs)Jeff Crowe 24 |
| South Australia won by 6 wicketsAdelaide Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Tony Crafter and Bruce Martin |
| 24–27 October 1980 |
| Victoria | v | Queensland (H) |
| 7/250d (99.3 overs)Graham Matthews 62Greg Chappell 3/29 (18.3 overs) | 5/358d (120.2 overs)Kepler Wessels 134Ray Bright 3/80 (23.2 overs) |
| Match drawnBrisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane Umpires: Mel Johnson and Tom Warwick |
| 30 October–1 November 1980 |
| New South Wales | v | South Australia (H) |
| 338 (125.2 overs)Ian Davis 64Rodney Hogg 4/50 (28 overs) | 89 (40.5 overs)David Hookes 17Len Pascoe 5/27 (11.5 overs) | |
| 152 f/o (78.1 overs)Rick Darling 46Bob Holland 4/50 (28 overs) |
| New South Wales won by an innings and 97 runsAdelaide Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Peter Cronin and Max O'Connell |
| 31 October–3 November 1980 |
| Western Australia | v | Queensland (H) |
| 261 (82 overs)Bruce Yardley 78Trevor Hohns 3/24 (6 overs) | 439 (136.5 overs)Greg Chappell 194Dennis Lillee 6/97 (46 overs) | |
| 420 (135.1 overs)Kim Hughes 149Carl Rackemann 3/9 (14 overs) | 0/82 (25 overs)Kepler Wessels 39* |
| Match drawnBrisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane Umpires: Mick Harvey and Mel Johnson |
| 5–7 March 1981 |
| New South Wales (H) | v | Tasmania |
| 222 (82.3 overs)Rick McCosker 88Rod McCurdy 3/37 (16.3 overs) | 226 (93.2 overs)Brian Davison 82Geoff Lawson 3/41 (22 overs) | |
| 5/297d (102 overs)Dirk Wellham 128*Rod McCurdy 4/52 (21 overs) | 133 (60.2 overs)Rob Jeffery 47David Hourn 6/33 (14.2 overs) |
| New South Wales won by 160 runsSydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Umpires: Michael Jay and Arthur Watson |
| 6–9 March 1981 |
Squad lists and statistics via Wikipedia