The 1974 African Cup of Nations was the ninth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (CAF).

Zaire won its second championship (their first win came as Congo-Kinshasa), tying Zambia 2−2 in the final and beating them 2−0 in the replay.

Zaire went on to compete in the World Cup later that year.

Both finalists were 2 best teams in African qualification to 1974 World Cup.

The 8 qualified teams are: If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tie-breakers were used to determine the final ranking: