There were 32 member clubs in the Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV), divided into two tiers of 16 teams each.
The top tier was named Nationalliga A (NLA) and the second tier was named Nationalliga B (NLB).
In both divisions the teams played a double round-robin to decide their table positions.
The Swiss champions would qualify for the 1986–87 European Cup, the runners-up and third placed team would qualify for the 1986–87 UEFA Cup.
The last two placed teams in the NLA would be directly relegated to the NLB for the following season.