The following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1951.

• Public Service:
  • The Miami Herald and the Brooklyn Eagle, for their reporting on organized crime during the year.^[1][2]
• Local Reporting:
  • Edward S. Montgomery of the San Francisco Examiner, for his series of articles on tax frauds which culminated in an exposé within the Bureau of Internal Revenue.^[3]
• National Reporting:
  • No award given.
• International Reporting:
  • Keyes Beech (Chicago Daily News); Homer Bigart (New York Herald Tribune); Marguerite Higgins (New York Herald Tribune); Relman Morin (AP); Fred Sparks (Chicago Daily News); and Don Whitehead (AP), for their reporting of the Korean War.
• Editorial Writing:
  • William Harry Fitzpatrick of the New Orleans States, for his series of editorials analyzing and clarifying a very important constitutional issue, which is described by the general heading of the series, "Government by Treaty".
• Editorial Cartooning:
  • Reginald W. Manning of The Arizona Republic, for "Hats".^[4]
• Photography:
  • Max Desfor of the Associated Press, for his photographic coverage of the Korean War, an outstanding example of which is, "Flight of Refugees Across Wrecked Bridge in Korea".
• Special Citations:
  • Cyrus L. Sulzberger of The New York Times, for his exclusive interview with Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac.
  • Arthur Krock of The New York Times, for his exclusive interview with President Truman. As a member of the Advisory Board of the Pulitzer Prizes, Krock was ineligible for a prize, under the Board's policy. His interview was cited as the outstanding example of national reporting for the year, in lieu of awarding the National Reporting prize to anyone.

• Fiction:
  • The Town by Conrad Richter (Knopf).
• Drama:
  • No award given.
• History:
  • The Old Northwest, Pioneer Period 1815-1840 by R. Carlyle Buley (Indiana Univ. Press).
• Biography or Autobiography:
  • John C. Calhoun: American Portrait by Margaret Louise Coit (Houghton).
• Poetry:
  • Complete Poems by Carl Sandburg (Harcourt).
• Music:
  • Music in Giants in the Earth by Douglas Stuart Moore (Circle Blue), produced by Columbia Opera Workshop, March 28, 1951.