# 1978 in Soviet football

The 1978 Soviet football championship was the 47th seasons of competitive football in the Soviet Union, the 41st among teams of masters. Dinamo Tbilisi won the Top League championship becoming the Soviet domestic champions for the second time.

## Honours

| Competition | Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| Top League | Top League | Dinamo Tbilisi (2) | Dinamo Kiev |
| First League | First League | Krylia Sovetov Kuibyshev (5*) | SKA Rostov-na-Donu |
| Second League | Group 1 | Fakel Voronezh | Iskra Smolensk |
| Second League | Group 2 | Metallist Kharkov | Kolos Nikopol |
| Second League | Group 3 | Spartak Nalchik | Mashuk Piatigorsk |
| Second League | Group 4 | Zvezda Perm | Guria Lanchkhuti |
| Second League | Group 5 | Alga Frunze | Avtomobilist Termez |
| Second League | Group 6 | Traktor Pavlodar | Shakhter Karaganda |
| Soviet Cup | Soviet Cup | Dinamo Kiev (5) | Shakhter Donetsk |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Soviet Union football championship
### Top League

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dinamo Tbilisi (C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 45 | 24 | +21 | 42 | Qualification for European Cup first round |
| 2 | Dynamo Kyiv | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 42 | 20 | +22 | 38 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 31 | +11 | 37 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 36 | Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | Spartak Moscow | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 33 | |
| 6 | CSKA Moscow | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 32 | |
| 7 | Chornomorets Odessa | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 32 | |
| 8 | Torpedo Moscow | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 36 | 29 | +7 | 30 | |
| 9 | Zaria Voroshilovgrad | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 38 | 44 | −6 | 26 | |
| 10 | Zenit Leningrad | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 31 | 46 | −15 | 26 | |
| 11 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 26 | |
| 12 | Kairat Alma-Ata | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 25 | |
| 13 | Neftchi Baku | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 23 | |
| 14 | Ararat Yerevan | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 20 | 42 | −22 | 22 | |
| 15 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 22 | |
| 16 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (R) | 30 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 25 | 39 | −14 | 21 | Relegation to First League |
* 1 2 1 point deducted (8 draw limit).
* 1 2 2 points deducted (8 draw limit).
* ↑ 3 points deducted (8 draw limit).

### First League

| Pos | Rep | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | RUS | Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev | 38 | 21 | 14 | 3 | 59 | 25 | +34 | 56 | Promoted |
| 2 | RUS | SKA Rostov-na-Donu | 38 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 54 | Promoted |
| 3 | BLR | Dinamo Minsk | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 57 | 28 | +29 | 53 | Promoted |
| 4 | UKR | Karpaty Lvov | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 60 | 37 | +23 | 52 | |
| 5 | RUS | Terek Grozny | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 41 | |
| 6 | RUS | Kuban Krasnodar | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 41 | |
| 7 | LTU | Žalgiris Vilnius | 38 | 11 | 19 | 8 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 41 | |
| 8 | UKR | Tavria Simferopol | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 40 | |
| 9 | GEO | Torpedo Kutaisi | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 37 | |
| 10 | MDA | Nistru Kishinev | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 37 | |
| 11 | UKR | SKA Odessa | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 34 | |
| 12 | RUS | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 42 | −5 | 34 | |
| 13 | TJK | Pamir Dushanbe | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 47 | 41 | +6 | 34 | |
| 14 | UKR | Metallurg Zaporozhye | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 34 | |
| 15 | UKR | Spartak Ivano-Frankovsk | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 32 | |
| 16 | RUS | Kuzbass Kemerovo | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 38 | 54 | −16 | 31 | |
| 17 | RUS | UralMash Sverdlovsk | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 31 | |
| 18 | RUS | Spartak Orjonikidze | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 50 | −20 | 28 | |
| 19 | RUS | Dinamo Leningrad | 38 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 47 | 65 | −18 | 27 | |
| 20 | TKM | Kolhozchi Ashkhabad | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 27 | 60 | −33 | 23 | |
* 1 2 -
* 1 2 3 +

### Top goalscorers

Top League
* Georgiy Yartsev (Spartak Moscow) – 19 goals
First League
* Sergei Andreyev (SKA Rostov-na-Donu), Aleksandr Ploshnik (Kuban Krasnodar) – 20 goals