Thomas Hörster (born 27 November 1956) is a German retired footballer who played as a defender.

After winning promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979, Hörster was an essential defensive unit for Bayer in the following 13 seasons, his lowest input being 24 games in the 1981–82 campaign.

[2] In 1987–88 he appeared in a total of 35 official matches, including nine in the team's victorious run in the UEFA Cup – one goal against FK Austria Wien in a 5–1 home win (also the aggregate score)[3]– even though he did not appear in any of the two matches of the final against RCD Español.

He remained closely associated with Leverkusen in the following years, working as manager (youth teams, reserves, caretaker) and scout.

[5] Hörster won four caps for West Germany, his debut coming on 24 September 1986 in a 2–0 friendly win in Denmark.