Miss Universe 1971 was the 20th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, on 24 July 1971.

At the conclusion of the event, Marisol Malaret of Puerto Rico crowned Georgina Rizk of Lebanon as Miss Universe 1971. It is the first victory of Lebanon in the competition.

Contestants from sixty countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Barker in his fifth consecutive year, while June Lockhart provided commentary and analysis throughout the event. The Singing Lettermen performed in this edition.

Contestants from sixty countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. One candidate was selected to replace the original dethroned winner, and another was selected after another national pageant was held to replace the original winner.

Miss Virgin Islands 1971, Utha Williams, was disqualified for exceeding the age limit and was replaced by her first runner-up, Cherrie Creque. Williams was 28 years old at the time of the competition.

Miss Italy 1970, Alda Balestra, was supposed to represent her country in this edition. However, Enzo Mirigliani, the organizer of Miss Italia, decided not to send her to the competition, expressing concerns that American judges often overlooked Italian contestants. As a result, a separate competition was quickly arranged by Mario Pedretti to select a new representative for Miss Universe, ultimately won by Mara Palvarini.

Palvarini was shocked to discover that the Miss Universe competition had a policy prohibiting married women from participating. Consequently, on her wedding day, just three days after winning the title of Miss Italia Universo, Palvarini decided to postpone her wedding to compete in Miss Universe in Miami. Her fiancé fully supported her decision to participate in the event.

This edition saw the returns of Trinidad and Tobago which last competed in 1966, the United States Virgin Islands which last competed in 1968, and Thailand which last competed in 1969.