The 1988–89 season was the 43rd season in Rijeka's history and their 27th season in the Yugoslav First League.

Their 8th place finish in the 1987–88 season meant it was their 15th successive season playing in the Yugoslav First League.

Source: rsssf.com[dead link‍] Source: rsssf.com[dead link‍] Competitive matches only.

Appearances in brackets indicate numbers of times the player came on as a substitute.

Data for league attendance in most cases reflects the number of sold tickets and may not be indicative of the actual attendance.