The 1971 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior-level international competition held at the Hallenstadion in Zürich, Switzerland on February 2–7.

British-trained Angelika and Erich Buck narrowly lost a 5–4 decision to Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov, who as usual were criticized for their unequal balance of skills.

Ondrej Nepela ran away with the men's title following the withdrawal of his two top challengers, Patrick Péra and Günter Zöller, due to injuries.

Nepela's victory was more the result of his strong showing in the compulsory figures than for his rather undistinguished free skating.

The ladies event was likewise decided by the compulsory figures as Beatrix Schuba dominated that part of the competition.