The South Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 saw the entry of the new team Goa in it and this entry increased the number of participating teams in the zone to 6, from that of 5 in the previous editions. All the other 5 teams that had been playing in the tournament for the previous several years were also present there in the tournament. The team list of the zone included the likes of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Hyderabad and Goa and all the teams were coming from the Southern region of India. All the teams tried their best to get a chance for playing into the knock out level of the tournament, by becoming one of the top two teams in the zone. However, the teams like Andhra and Tamil Nadu became the toppers in the zone with total points of 86 and 82, respectively, and they also entered into the knock out level of the tournament.

The teams of Goa and Kerala played against each other in the first of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 and the match was held at Vasco from 30 November-02 December, 1985. The Kerala team won the match by a margin of 6 wickets to earn 26 points and the Goa team also earned 9 points from the match. The Karnataka and Goa teams clashed in the second match of the zone and the match took place at Bhadravati from 07-09 December, 1985. The winner of the match was the Karnataka team with a margin of 6 wickets and the Karnataka and Goa teams earned 25 and 7 points, respectively from the match. The next match of the zone was played between the teams of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the two teams played the match at madras from 14-16 December, 1985. The Tamil Nadu team played very well in the match to earn 31 points by winning with a margin of an innings and 98 runs and the Kerala team also earned 3 points from the match.

There was a clash between the teams of Karnataka and Kerala in the fourth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 and the match took place at Bellary from 21-23 December, 1985. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration and the match officials awarded the Karnataka and Kerala teams 10 and 9 points, respectively for the match. The match between the teams of Andhra and Tamil Nadu was also held during the same timing from 21-23 December, 1985 and the two teams played the match at Vizianagaram. Both the Andhra and Tamil Nadu teams earned 9 points, each from the drawn match. The Tamil Nadu team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Karnataka team at Dharwad from 28-30 December, 1985. The match also was a drawn one and the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu teams earned 10 and 8 points, respectively for the match.

The Andhra and Hyderabad teams clashed with each other in the seventh of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 and the clash took place at Sirpur Kagaznagar from 28-30 December, 1985. The drawn match saw both the Andhra and Hyderabad teams earning 8 points, each from it. The Andhra team was a part of the next of the South Zone also, as it played against the Goa team in the match. The match was played at Cuddapah from 04-06 January, 1986 and it saw the Andhra team winning by a huge margin of an innings and 79 runs. The Andhra and Goa teams earned 32 and 5 points, respectively from the match. The Kerala team played against the Hyderabad team in the next match of the zone, which was held at Tellicherry from 04-06 January, 1986. The Hyderabad team clinched a huge victory of an innings and 91 runs in the match for earning 32 points and the Kerala team earned 6 points form the match, as well.

The Hyderabad team featured in the tenth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 also and this time, it played against the Tamil Nadu team at Madras from 11-13 January, 1986. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration and the match officials awarded the Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu teams 3 and 2 points, respectively for the match. The match between the teams of Andhra and Karnataka was the next match of the zone and the match was held at Vishakhapatnam from 11-13 January, 1986. The Andhra and Karnataka teams earned 8 and 7 points, respectively from the drawn match. The Karnataka team then played against the Hyderabad team in the next match of the South Zone and the match took place at Hyderabad from 17-19 January, 1986. The match also remained drawn during the specified period of time and it saw the Karnataka team earning 9 points and the Hyderabad team earning 8 points from it.

The Tamil Nadu and Goa teams appeared in the next match of the zone and the match was played at Madras from 18-20 January, 1986. The Tamil Nadu team played very well in the match and clinched a huge victory of an innings and 110 runs for earning 32 points from it. The Goa team also earned 4 points from the match. The 14th of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 involved the teams like Andhra and Kerala and the two teams played the match at Tellicherry from 18-20 January, 1986. The Andhra team was the winner of the match with a margin of 137 runs and the team earned 29 points from the match. The Kerala team earned 8 points from the match, as well. The teams of Goa and Hyderabad played against each other in the last match of the South Zone and the match was held at Margo from 25-27 January, 1986. The Hyderabad team finished the zonal level league matches on a positive note, as it won this match with a margin of an innings and 87 runs and also earned 30 points from it. The earnings of the Goa team from the match were 3 points.