| Host city | Sofia, Bulgaria |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8–15 November 1986 |
The 1986 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria from November 8 to November 15, 1986. There were 193 men in action from 41 nations.
Ranking by Big (Total result) medals
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bulgaria | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 |  Romania | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 |  Poland | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 |  China | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 West Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 |  Hungary | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 8 |  East Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (8 entries) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | |
Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulgaria | 18 | 8 | 1 | 27 |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 6 | 13 | 4 | 23 |
| 3 | Romania | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | China | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Poland | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| 6 | West Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 8 | East Germany | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 |  Cuba | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 |  North Korea | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (10 entries) | 30 | 30 | 31 | 91 | |
The 1972 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Munich, West Germany from August 27 to September 6, 1972. There were 188 men in action from 54 nations.
The following is the final results of the 1990 World Weightlifting Championships. Men's competition were held in Budapest, Hungary between 10–18 November and Women's competition were held in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 26 May and 3 June.
The following is the final results of the 1989 World Weightlifting Championships. Men's competition were held in Athens, Greece and Women's competition were held in Manchester, United Kingdom.
The following is the final results of the 1987 World Weightlifting Championships. The men's competition was held in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia and the women's competition was held in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. The women's competition was the first women's world championship in weightlifting.
The 1985 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Södertälje, Sweden from August 23 to September 1, 1985. There were 195 men in action from 38 nations.
The 1984 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Los Angeles, United States from July 29 to August 8, 1984. There were 187 men in action from 48 nations.
The 1983 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held at the Izmailovo Sports Palace in Moscow, Soviet Union from October 22 to October 31, 1983. There were 187 men in action from 32 nations.
The 1982 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Hala Tivoli, Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia from September 18 to September 26, 1982. There were 205 men in action from 38 nations. These world championships were combined with European championships.
The 1981 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Lille, France, from September 13 to September 20, 1981. There were 194 men in action from 35 nations.
The 1980 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Moscow, Soviet Union from July 20 to July 30, 1980. There were 173 men in action from 40 nations.
The 1979 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Thessaloniki, Greece from November 3 to November 11, 1979. There were 189 men in action from 39 nations.
The 1978 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States from October 4 to October 8, 1978. There were 185 men in action from 35 nations.
The 1977 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Stuttgart, West Germany from September 17 to September 25, 1977. There were 186 men in action from 44 nations.
The 1976 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 18 to July 27, 1976. There were 173 men in action from 46 nations.
The 1975 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held at the Luzhniki Sports Palace in Moscow, Soviet Union from September 15 to September 23, 1975. There were 169 men in action from 33 nations.
The 1974 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Manila, Philippines from September 21 to September 29, 1974. There were 143 men in action from 32 nations.
The 1973 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Havana, Cuba from September 15 to September 23, 1973. There were 189 men from 39 nations in the competition. These were the first championships held since the elimination of the clean and press from competition.
The 1971 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Lima, Peru from September 18 to September 26, 1971. There were 144 men from 30 nations in the competition.
The 1970 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Columbus, Ohio, United States from September 12 to September 20, 1970. There were 129 men from 28 nations in the competition.
The 1969 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Warsaw, Poland from September 20 to September 28, 1969. There were 166 men from 37 nations in the competition.