Football League Fourth Division 1970/71
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Notts County | 46 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 89 | 36 | 2.472 | 69 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Bournemouth & Boscambe | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 81 | 46 | 1.761 | 60 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 88 | 63 | 1.397 | 59 | ▲Promoted |
| 4th | York City | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 78 | 54 | 1.444 | 56 | ▲Promoted |
| 5th | Chester | 46 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 69 | 55 | 1.255 | 55 | - |
| 6th | Colchester United | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 70 | 54 | 1.296 | 54 | - |
| 7th | Northampton Town | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 63 | 59 | 1.068 | 51 | - |
| 8th | Southport | 46 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 63 | 57 | 1.105 | 48 | - |
| 9th | Exeter City | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 67 | 68 | 0.985 | 48 | - |
| 10th | Workington | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 48 | 49 | 0.980 | 48 | - |
| 11th | Stockport County | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 49 | 65 | 0.754 | 46 | - |
| 12th | Darlington | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 58 | 57 | 1.018 | 45 | - |
| 13th | Aldershot | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 66 | 71 | 0.930 | 45 | - |
| 14th | Brentford | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 66 | 62 | 1.065 | 44 | - |
| 15th | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 75 | 76 | 0.987 | 44 | - |
| 16th | Peterborough United | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 70 | 71 | 0.986 | 43 | - |
| 17th | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 56 | 61 | 0.918 | 43 | - |
| 18th | Southend United | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 53 | 66 | 0.803 | 43 | - |
| 19th | Grimsby Town | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 57 | 71 | 0.803 | 43 | - |
| 20th | Cambridge United | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 51 | 66 | 0.773 | 43 | - |
| 21st | Lincoln City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 70 | 71 | 0.986 | 39 | Re-Elected |
| 22nd | Newport County | 46 | 10 | 8 | 28 | 55 | 85 | 0.647 | 28 | Re-Elected |
| 23rd | Hartlepool | 46 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 34 | 74 | 0.459 | 28 | Re-Elected |
| 24th | Barrow | 46 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 51 | 90 | 0.567 | 22 | Re-Elected |
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Election for League Membership |
||
| The bottom four league sides faced re-election and were joined by 13 non-league clubs in the vote for league membership. | ||
| Votes | Club | End Result |
| 47 | Lincoln City | Re Elected to the League |
| 38 | Barrow | Re Elected to the League |
| 33 | Hartlepool | Re Elected to the League |
| 33 | Newport County | Re Elected to the League |
| 22 | Hereford United | Not Elected to the League |
| 14 | Wigan Athletic | Not Elected to the League |
| 2 | Cambridge City | Not Elected to the League |
| 2 | Telford United | Not Elected to the League |
| 2 | Yeovil Town | Not Elected to the League |
| 1 | Boston United | Not Elected to the League |
| 1 | Bradford Park Avenue | Not Elected to the League |
| 1 | Romford | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Bedford Town | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Chelmsford City | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Gateshead | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Hillingdon Borough | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Kettering Town | Not Elected to the League |
|
End of Season Notes |
| ▼Reading were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▼Bury were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▼Doncaster Rovers were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▼Gillingham were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▲Notts County were Promoted to the Football League Third Division |
| ▲Bournemouth & Boscambe Athletic were Promoted to the Football League Third Division and changed their name to AFC Bournemouth |
| ▲Oldham Athletic were Promoted to the Football League Third Division |
| ▲York City were Promoted to the Football League Third Division |
| ♦ Lincoln City were Re-Elected to the League |
| ♦ Newport County were Re-Elected to the League |
| ♦ Hartlepool were Re-Elected to the League |
| ♦ Barrow were Re-Elected to the League |