Literary Prizes
| 1975 | : Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry. (Ayyappa Paniker Krithikal, (1969-81) |
| 1977 | : Kalyani Krishna Menon Prize. |
| 1978 | : S.P.C.S. Award. |
| 1984 | : Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Criticism. |
| 1984 | : Central Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry |
| 1987 | : Rev. Abraham Vadaakel Award for Criticism. |
| 1989 | : Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Bhilwara Award for Poetry (Ayyappa Panikerude Krithikal, Vol II) |
| 1990 | : Mahakavi Kuttamath Award for Poetry |
| 1990 | : Mahakavi Ulloor Award for Poetry |
| 1992 | : Kerala Cultural Centre (Muscat) Literary Award. |
| 1993 | : Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishad Award for Poetry. |
| 1996 – 97 | : Kabir Samman (Madhya Pradesh) |
| 1998 | : Gangadhar Meher National Award for Poetry (Orissa) |
| 1999 | : Asan Prize (Chennai) |
| 1999 | : Jana Sanskriti Award (Abu Dhabi) |
| 1999 | : Viswadeepam Award |
| 2002 | : Vayalar Award |
| 2002 | : Sahitya KalanidhiTitle given by Kerala Hindi Prachara Sabha. |
| 2003 | : Elected to the Honarary Membership of the prestigious Modern Language Association of America |
| 2004 | : Vallathoal Award for Poetry |
| 2004 | : Padmashree |
| 2005 | : Sanjayan Puraskaram |
| 2006 | : Saraswathi Samman |
| 2006 | : Mahakavi P. Kunhiraman Nair Award. |
Academic Honours
- Fulbright Fellowship, USA - 1969.
- Fulbright Scholarship 1969-70.
- Associate Instructorship at Indiana University 1970-71.
- ACLS Fellowship (Postdoctoral) at Yale and Harvard 1980-81.
- National Lecturer, UGC. 1984-85.
- Senior Scholar in Residence at ASRC, Hyderabad 1986-87.
- Award for Distinguished Teacher from University 1990.
- Birla Research Fellowship - 1994-96.
- British Council Visitorship.
- International Man of the Year (IBC, Cambridge, UK) 1997.
- Gandhi Memorial Fellowship 1997.
- Indira Gandhi Memorial Fellowship 1997.
- Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Fellowship. 1998-2000.
- Kerala University’s International Centre for Kerala Studies Fellowship. 2000.
- Rockfeller Foundation Scholarship.
- Kerala Sahitya Akademi fellowship for the year 2002.
Memberships
- Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker has been elected to Honorary Membership of the prestigious Modern Language Association of America, effective 1 January 2003. His election has been ratified by the members of the association on a special ballot. His name will now appear in the list of foreign scholars, which includes Jacques Derrida, David Daiches, Umberto Eco, Wolfgang Iser, Julia Kristeva, Randolph Quirk, Paul Ricoeur, Tzvetan Todorov, Jan Kott, etc.
- American Studies Research Center
- Dravidan Linguistics Associations
- Indian Association for English Studies
- Advisory Board, Vagartha Poetry Library, Bhopal
- CIEFL Society, Hyderbad
- Chaya Parishad, Birla Fountation
- Kerala University Senate, Academic Council, Faculty of Arts
- National Literacy Mission
- National Book Trust, India
- Poetry Sub-Committe Festival of India
- Raja Ram Mohun Roy Library Fountation
- Sahitya Akademi
- Sangeet Natak Akademic
- University Court, Hyderbad University
- Vivekananda Bharat Parikrama Centenary Committee
- President, C.V. Raman Pillai National Fountation
- Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Kerala
Contributor to:
- Dictionary of National Biograghy
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- Frederick Ungar Encyclopedia of 20th Century Literature, USA
- Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre
- Oxford Companion to Indian Literature
- Oxford Guide to World Literature in English Translation
Participated in:
- Asian Literary Conference, Washington, D.C., USA
- Commonwealth Institute Centenary, London
- Cultural Exchange Programme, Yugoslavia, Romania,USSR
- Festival of India, Sweden
- Festival of India, USA
- Struga Poetry Festival, Yugoslavia