This time Romania played Poland in the Qualification round and lost 7–4, keeping them in the B division once again.

In 1980, Romania was able to play with the top teams and was put into the Blue Division group, along with tough opponents such as Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and USA.

In the first game Romania was down 4–2 to West Germany, but managed to score 4 goals to beat the former bronze medallists 6–4.

Unlike other teams that the US had faced, the Romanians fought strong in the third period, despite being outshot 15–3, and scored a goal.

They finished the tournament with a 1–3–1 record, and were ranked 8th out of 12, just beating the Netherlands, West Germany, Norway, and Japan.