The 1985 Sabah state election was held between Saturday, 20 April and Sunday, 21 April 1985. This was the fifth state election to take place. Parti Bersatu Sabah won 25 out 48 seats contested, thus forming government with its president Joseph Pairin Kitingan being sworn in as Chief Minister. This election is a milestone in Sabah political history as it marked the first time that a party not part of the nation's ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) formed government. PBS took control of the state from the previous ruling government under Parti Berjaya—a partner of BN, which has been in power since 1976.

The United Sabah Party is a political party of Sabah. The PBS was founded by Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1985 and it is Sabah's oldest local party. In August 2020, PBS confirmed that they would be using their own logo and flag until Sabah's local coalition is established under Registrar of Societies (RoS). In 2022, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is the only Sabah's local coalition that has been successfully registered under the Registrar of Societies (RoS) making PBS interested in using the coalition's logo and becoming part of the coalition's component.