Ryle was awarded numerous prizes and honours including:
* Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1952
*Hughes Medal (1954)
*Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1964)
*Fernand Holweck Medal and Prize (1965)
*Henry Draper Medal of the National Academy of Sciences (1965)
*Albert A. Michelson Medal of the Franklin Institute (1971)
*Royal Medal (1973)
*Bruce Medal (1974)
*Nobel Prize in Physics (1974)
*Ryle Telescope at Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory
* In 1965 Ryle co-delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Exploration of the Universe.