The 1989 Lion Cup was the premier domestic rugby union knock-out competition in South Africa. This was the sixth edition of the Lion Cup.
All 26 South African provincial teams took part in this competition. They were ranked as follows:
This competition was a knock-out competition. The four teams ranked 23 to 26 played each other in the qualifying round with the two winners advancing to Round One, where they joined the teams ranked 9 to 22. These 16 teams played in eight matches, with the winners advancing to Round Two, where the top 8 ranked teams will join. In Round Two, the 16 remaining teams would be reduced to eight and would be followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the Final.
The draw for round one and round two were made on 25 February, The quarter final draw was made on 3 May and the semi-final draw on 28 May.