Competitors for 1981 World Wrestling Championships - Freestyle
| Athlete | Country | Sports | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saypulla Absaidov |  URS |
WRE | 14 July 1958 |
| Viktor Alekseyev | URS |
WRE | 8 February 1956 |
| Toshio Asakura |  JPN |
WRE | 19 July 1956 |
| Sergey Beloglazov | URS |
WRE | 16 September 1956 |
| Chris Campbell |  USA |
WRE | 9 September 1954 |
| Grigory Danko | URS |
WRE | 25 October 1956 |
| Roland Gehrke |  GDR |
WRE | 17 January 1954 |
| Greg Gibson | USA |
WRE | 20 November 1953 |
| Ivan Ginov |  BUL |
WRE | 10 February 1956 |
| Stefan Ivanov | BUL |
WRE | 28 February 1957 |
| Efraim Kamberov | BUL TUR |
WRE | 30 July 1957 |
| Leroy Kemp | USA |
WRE | 24 December 1956 |
| Salman Khasimikov | URS |
WRE | 5 April 1953 |
| Martin Knosp |  GER |
WRE | 7 October 1959 |
| Sergey Kornilayev | URS |
WRE | 20 February 1955 |
| Ilya Mate | URS |
WRE | 6 October 1956 |
| Nanzadyn Büregdaa |  MGL |
WRE | 8 June 1955 |
| Uwe Neupert | GDR |
WRE | 5 August 1957 |
| Sanasar Oganisyan | URS |
WRE | 5 February 1960 |
| Kamen Penev | BUL |
WRE | 15 January 1959 |
| Valentin Raychev | BUL |
WRE | 20 August 1958 |
| Hartmut Reich | GDR |
WRE | 5 July 1956 |
| Billy Rosado | USA |
WRE | 23 October 1955 |
| Adam Sandurski |  POL |
WRE | 8 February 1953 |
| Šaban Sejdi |  YUG |
WRE | 6 May 1959 |
| Simeon Shterev | BUL |
WRE | 8 February 1959 |
| Marian Skubacz | POL |
WRE | 8 April 1958 |
| Reza Sokhtesaraie |  IRI |
WRE | 30 January 1950 |
| Son Gap-Do |  KOR |
WRE | 12 July 1960 |
| Hideaki Tomiyama | JPN |
WRE | 16 November 1957 |