The Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting has been awarded since 1985 for a distinguished example of investigative reporting by an individual or team, presented as a single article or series. List of winners:

• 1985: Lucy Morgan and Jack Reed , St. Petersburg Times (Florida), for their thorough reporting on Pasco County Sheriff John Short, which revealed his department's corruption and led to his removal from office by voters.
• 1985: William K. Marimow , Philadelphia Inquirer, for his revelation that city police dogs had attacked more than 350 people -- an expose that led to investigations of the K-9 unit and the removal of a dozen officers from it.
• 1986: Jeffrey A. Marx and Michael M. York , Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky), for their series "Playing Above the Rules," which exposed cash payoffs to University of Kentucky basketball players in violation of NCAA regulations. However, the UK basketball program did little to reform itself in the wake of the articles; true reform would not come until the program was involved in another cash-for-recruits scandal three years later.
• 1987: Daniel R. Biddle , H. G. Bissinger , and Fredric N. Tulsky , Philadelphia Inquirer, for their series "Disorder in the Court," which revealed transgressions of justice in the Philadelphia court system and led to federal and state investigations.
• 1988: Dean Baquet , William C. Gaines , and Ann Marie Lipinski , Chicago Tribune, for their detailed reporting on the self-interest and waste that plague Chicago's City Council.
• 1989: Bill Dedman , Atlanta Journal and Constitution , for his investigation of the racial discrimination practiced by lending institutions in Atlanta, reporting which led to significant reforms in those policies.
• 1990: Lou Kilzer and Chris Ison , Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune , for reporting that exposed a network of local citizens who had links to members of the St. Paul fire department and who profited from fires, including some described by the fire department itself as being of suspicious origin.
• 1991: Joseph T. Hallinan and Susan M. Headden , an Ohio Wesleyan University graduate, Indianapolis Star, for their shocking series on medical malpractice in the state.
• 1992: Lorraine Adams and Dan Malone , Dallas Morning News, for reporting that charged Texas police with extensive misconduct and abuses of power.
• 1993: Jeff Brazil and Steve Berry , Orlando Sentinel (Florida) , for exposing the unjust seizure of millions of dollars from motorists - most of them minorities - by a sheriff's drug squad.
• 1994: Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island) staff, for thorough reporting that disclosed pervasive corruption within the Rhode Island court system.
• 1995: Stephanie Saul and Brian Donovan , Newsday, for their stories that revealed disability pension abuses by local police.
• 1996: Orange County Register staff, for reporting that uncovered fraudulent and unethical fertility practices at a leading research university hospital and prompted key regulatory reforms.
• 1997: Eric Nalder , Deborah Nelson , and Alex Tizon , Seattle Times, for their investigation of widespread corruption and inequities in the federally-sponsored housing program for Native Americans, which inspired much-needed reforms.
• 1998: Gary Cohn and Will Englund , The Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) , for their compelling series on the international shipbreaking industry that revealed the dangers posed to workers and the environment when discarded ships are dismantled.
• 1999: The Miami Herald staff, for its detailed reporting that revealed pervasive voter fraud in a city mayoral election that was subsequently overturned.
• 2000: Sang-Hun Choe , Charles J. Hanley , and Martha Mendoza , Associated Press, for revealing, with extensive documentation, the decades-old secret of how American soldiers early in the Korean War killed hundreds of Korean civilians in a massacre at the No Gun Ri Bridge.
• 2001: David Willman , Los Angeles Times, for his pioneering exposé of seven unsafe prescription drugs that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and an analysis of the policy reforms that had reduced the agency's effectiveness.
• 2002: Sari Horwitz , Scott Higham , and Sarah Cohen , Washington Post, for a series that exposed the District of Columbia's role in the neglect and death of 229 children placed in protective care between 1993 and 2000, which prompted an overhaul of the city's child welfare system.
• 2003: Clifford J. Levy , New York Times, for his vivid, brilliantly written series "Broken Homes" that exposed the abuse of mentally ill adults in state-regulated homes.
• 2004: Michael D. Sallah , Joe Mahr , and Mitch Weiss , Toledo Blade, for a series on atrocities by the Tiger Force during the Vietnam War
• 2005: Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week, Portland, Oregon, "for his investigation exposing former governor Neil Goldschmidt’s long concealed sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl".