Yugoslavia was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, Ireland, after opting out of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 contest in The Hague, Netherlands.

After a four-year break Yugoslavia returns to Eurovision Song Contest 1981. The Yugoslavian national final to select their entry, Jugovizija 1981, was held on 28 February at the Studio TV - TV Beograd in Belgrade, and was hosted by Minja Subota and Helga Vlahović

Sixteen songs made it to the national final, which was broadcast by JRT to all of the regions of Yugoslavia. The winner was decided by the votes of eight regional juries (Sarajevo, Skopje, Novi Sad, Titograd, Zagreb, Belgrade, Ljubljana and Pristina).

The winning entry was "Lejla," performed by Bosnian singer Seid Memić-Vajta and composed by Ranko Boban.