The 1988 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the seventh annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1988, twenty Division I college softball teams contested the championship, an expansion of four teams from the previous year. The tournament featured eight regionals of either two or three teams. The regions of two teams consisted of a simple best-of-three series whereas the regions of three teams consisted of a double elimination tournament of four or five games. The 1988 Women's College World Series was held in Sunnyvale, California from May 25 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 1988 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won the championship by defeating Fresno State 3–0 in the final game.