The 1988 NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament was the 18th annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of men's college lacrosse among its Division I programs, held at the end of the 1988 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse season.

Hosts Syracuse defeated Cornell in the final, 13–8, for the first of three straight NCAA titles for the Orangemen.

Syracuse was ranked number one in the nation for most of this year, averaged just under 18 goals a game, and had only one close game—an overtime win over North Carolina—during the regular season.

They had also defeated the second seed in the tournament, Johns Hopkins, 19–7 early in the season.

In a 23–5 quarterfinal win over Navy, Gary Gait scored a tournament record 9 goals.