John "Hannibal" Smith is the leader of the A-Team. He is a brilliant tactician and a master of disguise. Hannibal is distinguished by his cigar smoking, black gloves, disguises, and his catch phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." Always "on the jazz" (a phrase coined by B.A., meaning that Hannibal thrives on adventure and life-threatening situations), he seems to genuinely enjoy every situation they get into. He also works as an actor, playing monsters in low-budget horror movies.

Templeton "Face(man)" Peck was suave, smooth-talking, and hugely successful with women who serves as the team's con man and scrounger, as he is able to get his hands on just about anything they need. He is the one who arranges for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information using numerous scams and hustles. Raised in a Christian orphanage, Face has respect for the church."Faceman" Peck is a master of the persuasive arts. The team's scrounger, he can get virtually anything he sets his mind to, usually exploiting women with sympathy-appeal and flirtation. He grew up an orphan, and is not without integrity, as stated by Murdock in the episode "Family Reunion": "He would rip the shirt off his back for you, and then scam one for himself." Faceman is also the A-Team's accountant. He dresses suavely, often appearing in suits. Faceman carries a Colt Lawman Mk III revolver for protection, and drives a custom white 1984 Corvette with red trim. Amy and Murdock give some insight into Face's true character; while Face has a good heart, he fears commitment. In Season Five, Face's birth name is revealed to actually be Richard Bancroft; his father left him and his mother, who died shortly afterwards.

H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock was the best chopper pilot of the Vietnam War who is either mentally unstable or exceptionally good at pretending to be so. Although he was their pilot on the Hanoi bank raid, he was not officially part of the A-Team and so not tried by the military. Though interned at a psychiatric hospital, he routinely escapes easily to accompany the A-Team on their missions & became Hannibal's second-in-command. The symptoms of his "insanity" varies from episode to episode, but generally includes self-identification with fictional characters, hallucinations, belief in the "intelligence" of inanimate objects, among others. He frequently refers to his invisible dog, "Billy". Unlike B.A., the initials "H.M." were never explained in terms of Murdock's actual name, and the nickname "Howlin' Mad" is simply attributed to him. He was permanently discharged from the hospital in the fifth season.

Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus is a highly skilled mechanic and the A-Team's regular Mr. Fix-It as well as being the team's master at arms. His character is basically that of the public persona of Mr. T himself. He is a skilled fighter and is easily roused to anger, earning him the nickname "Bad Attitude". Despite his reputed attitude, he is a nice guy at heart. He has a special fondness for children and never drinks alcohol, preferring milk instead. He is most upset by Murdock, frequently referring to him as a "crazy fool". He suffers an intense fear of flying, especially when the plane in question is flown by Murdock. This difficulty is often overcome by other members of the team drugging him, or otherwise rendering him unconscious, so he can be transported without objection; he has the odd habit of falling on car horns when he's knocked out.

Amy Allen was an intrepid reporter for the L.A. Courier paper who joined the team in its pilot episode. At the end of the pilot, Hannibal comments on how her initials are "Triple A" Amy is reportedly "on foreign correspondent duty" in Jakarta .

Tawnia (misspelled as Tanya on a computer screen in the character's introductory episode "The Battle Of Bel Air") She was also a reporter who had heard of the team through Amy and helped the A-Team out a few times, although she never fully incorporated herself into the team, as Amy had done. The character was dropped in "The Bend In The River", the feature-length second story of the third season, as she married explorer Brian Leftcourt , whom the Team had rescued from river pirates in the Amazon, and went on a round the world all expenses honeymoon.

Tia was the half-Vietnamese daughter of latter 4th season antagonist General Fullbright. She was inducted into the team in "The Sound of Thunder", the finale to season 4, after the death of her father and her own wanted status in Vietnam and illegal status in the US.

Frankie Santana was a Puerto Rican special effects expert who helps the A-Team during the final season. He was blackmailed into joining the team by Gen. Stockwell after he and Murdock helped the team escape the firing squad. The character was also often given the nickname "Dishpan Man" (or simply "Dishpan") in much of the series' coverage, but while he was introduced as this in the fifth season opener, itself called "Dishpan Man", this nickname was very seldom used afterwards in the actual series. Frankie is unique as he refers to Hannibal Smith by his first name 'Johnny' whilst the others would use his nickname Hannibal or his rank of Colonel. In "The Theory of Revolution" it is remarked that Frankie claimed to have served as a paratrooper although Murdock is skeptical of this given his unfamiliarity with the military 24hr time system. It is mentioned that he has a father in a nursing home in "Trial By Fire". Unlike Amy and Tawnia, Frankie makes full participation in action sequences and normally uses a Heckler and Koch P7 pistol.

Hunt Stockwell is the A-Team's boss during the final season, who blackmailed the team into working on an undefined number of top-secret government missions in return for their supposed eventual pardon. He oversees an intelligence gathering network whose size is unknown. It is implied that he has operatives in many parts of the world. He also apparently has the ability to keep the military police and other law enforcement agencies from continuing to hunt the A-Team as they are working for him. By extension, Stockwell also has access to the resources to provide the team with a house in Washington, D.C. as well as whatever travel documents, currency, weapons and equipment they may require for an assignment. Nothing is known about his background and/or how he is connected to the intelligence community and to whom he is accountable. It is known that he must report in on a daily basis to the U.S. President or his entire network will disappear. This may imply that he answers only to the President. He is mysterious, unpredictable, manipulative, cold and in many respects emotionally detached. The team often feels that he is just using them for his own gains, leading them on with undefined terms for their supposed pardon (in the episode "Alive At Five," Face tires of this and plans to go at it alone, although eventually decides to stay). Often Stockwell will send the team out on various missions, usually contacting them from his luxury jet, but occasionally will take a more hands-on approach (such as the episode "Point Of No Return," when he leads the rest of the team to Hong Kong to find the missing Hannibal). His catch phrase was "(I'm going to do this...) My way."

Colonel Lynch was the Commander of Fort Bragg, which housed the stockade from which the team escaped. The Colonel pursued them throughout the first season. (He was mentioned to still be in pursuit of the team at the start of the second season, though was never actually seen). He seemed to have a personal vendetta against the A-Team (arrogant, ambitious, and not particularly bright, he viewed the Team's escape as the biggest on-going blemish of his career) which, coupled with the fact that he never managed to capture them, led to his being taken off the case. He also made a surprise return to make one last effort at catching the team in the third season episode "Showdown!."

United States Army Military Police Captain Stewart Lynch's Aide from "Mexican Slayride", "Holiday in the Hills" and "One More Time". He reports to Lynch about the activities of the Team, such as when Hannibal and B.A picked up Amy at her apartment in "Mexican Slayride" and when Lynch sent in an undercover operative to follow Amy in "Holiday in the Hills".

Roderick Decker was the second Colonel who tried to catch the team. He was picked for the job because of his unorthodox warfare techniques (it was revealed that in Vietnam, he was known for blowing up Viet Cong hospitals). Decker and Hannibal had a past, having gotten into a brawl at an officers' club in Vietnam. Decker was much more ruthless than Lynch, but also always got outsmarted. He equally despises and respects the A-Team, and Smith in particular, for their ingenuity and teamwork. Decker reappears in the fifth season episode "Trial by Fire" to testify against the A-Team.

Captain Crane is Decker's right-hand man. He was much more naïve than Decker regarding the A-Team, and was often surprised at the team's ability to evade them.

Briggs was the third Colonel who tried to catch the team but only appeared in one early season 3 episode ("Fire") before Colonel Decker returned.

United States Army Military Police Captain Royce Briggs's Aide in "Fire" and who temporary became Lynch's Aide in his return appearance in "Showdown".

Harlan "Bull" Fullbright is a General who, once again, was determined to capture the team. In the season four finale "The Sound of Thunder," he actually tracked down the team, but instead of turning them in, persuaded them to travel with him to Vietnam to try to find his long-lost offspring, not realizing he was being led into a trap; at the climax of the story the character is shot and killed. In his dying moments, Fullbright admitted to the team that he realized they were innocent, as they were willing to help him at any cost despite them being criminals on the run from him.

United States Army Military Police Sergeant Case Decker's temporary Aide in "Body Slam" and later Fullbright's main aide in "Mind Games", "Members Only" and "Mission of Peace".

Carla is General Stockwell's assistant, and often the target of Face (and Frankie)'s unwanted advances. Seen for the first half of the final season, in the last few episodes several other assistants appeared in her place (Carla appears for the last time in "Point Of No Return").

Samuel Morrison is the A-Team's commanding officer during the Vietnam War. Morrison ordered them to rob the Bank of Hanoi to help bring the war to an end. They succeeded in their mission, but on their return to their base four days after the end of the war, they discovered that Morrison had been murdered by the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, or Viet Cong, and that his headquarters had been burned to the ground. This meant that the proof that the A-Team members were acting under orders had been destroyed, and they were sent to prison by a military court. They were sent to Fort Bragg, from which they quickly escaped before standing trial.