The 1981 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament of the Ohio Valley Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was held March 5–6, 1981. The semifinals and finals took place at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Top seed Western Kentucky won the tournament, defeating in the championship game, and received the Ohio Valley's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Hilltoppers drew a 10 seed in the Mideast region, facing the 7 seed UAB.
Format
The top four eligible men's basketball teams in the Ohio Valley Conference received a berth in the conference tournament. After the 14-game conference season, teams were seeded by conference record. The bottom four teams in the standings did not participate.