The 1986 Highland Regional Council election to the Highland Regional Council was held on 8 May 1986 as part of the wider 1986 Scottish regional elections. The election saw Independents win control of 36 of the council's 52 seats.
Turnout was 42.1% in contested electoral districts. Only half of the regions electoral districts were contested.
Aggregate results
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | 36 |  6
|
73.0 | 22,884 |  2.1
| ||||
| Labour | 7 | 2
|
14.4 | 4,510 | 0.3
| ||||
| SNP | 3 | 1
|
6.4 | 1,993 | 3.1
| ||||
| Alliance | 3 | 1
|
2.6 | 824 | 2.3
| ||||
| Conservative | 2 | 1
|
2.2 | 700 | 2.2
| ||||
| Independent Labour | 1 | 1
|
1.3 | 422 | New | ||||
