List of Burnley F.C. seasons


, an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, was founded on 18 May 1882 as Burnley Rovers. The suffix "Rovers" was soon dropped, and the club was simply known as "Burnley Football Club" at the time of its first-ever match on 10 August. For the first six years of their existence, there was no league football, so matches were arranged on an ad hoc basis, supplemented by cup competitions organised at local and national level. Burnley won their first trophy in 1883; the Dr Dean Cup, a knockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area. The team won the Dr Dean Trophy outright, and subsequently won its successor, the Hospital Cup, in 1884 and on multiple occasions in later years. Burnley turned professional in 1883, first entered the FA Cup in the 1885–86 season, and were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888. They have played in one of the four professional levels of English football from 1888 to the present day.
Burnley reached their first major final in 1914, when they reached the FA Cup Final and beat Liverpool 1–0. They have been champions of England twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60. The team have also won the Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. Burnley are one of only five teams to have won all top four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth.
As at the end of the 2019–20 season, the club's first team have spent 57 seasons in the top division of English football, 46 in the second, 11 in the third, and seven in the fourth. The table details their achievements in national competitions, and records their top goalscorer and average home league attendance, for each completed season.

Key

Key to league record:
Key to colours and symbols:
1st or WWinners
2nd or FRunners-up
Promoted
Relegated
♦Top league scorer in Burnley's division

Key to divisions:
Key to rounds: