<PAGE>
 
       As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 24, 1997
                                                 Registration No. 333-__________
================================================================================

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
                               ________________

                                   FORM S-8

                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                               ________________

                      APPLIED MICRO CIRCUITS CORPORATION
            (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

          DELAWARE                                      94-2586591
 (State of incorporation)                   (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

                              6290 SEQUENCE DRIVE
                         SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA  92121
                   (Address of principal executive offices)
                            _______________________

                       1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                           (Full title of the Plan)
                            _______________________

                                DAVID M. RICKEY
                     PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                      APPLIED MICRO CIRCUITS CORPORATION
                              6290 SEQUENCE DRIVE
                         SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA  92121
                                (619) 450-9333
(Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
                            _______________________
                                   Copy to:

                               Mark A. Medearis
                                Glen Van Ligten
                               Venture Law Group
                          A Professional Corporation
                              2800 Sand Hill Road
                         Menlo Park, California 94025
                                (415) 854-4488

                               Page 1 of 9 Pages
                            Exhibit Index on Page 9
              (Calculation of Registration Fee on following page)
<PAGE>
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                              Proposed     Proposed                    
                                             Maximum          Maximum       Maximum     Amount of            
                                           Amount to be       Offering     Aggregate   Registration                          
Title of Securities to be Registered       Registered(1)     Price Per      Offering       Fee
                                                               Share         Price              
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
<S>                                        <C>               <C>           <C>         <C>
    1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
     Common Stock,
     $0.01 par value..........              400,000           $8.50 (2)    $3,400,000   $1,030.30
                                             Shares
</TABLE>

--------------------
(1)  This Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of
     Common Stock which become issuable under any of the Plans being registered
     pursuant to this Registration Statement by reason of any stock dividend,
     stock split, recapitalization or any other similar transaction effected
     without the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the
     number of the Registrant's outstanding shares of Common Stock.

(2)  Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933
     (the "Securities Act") solely for the purpose of calculating the
           --------------                                            
     registration fee. The computation is based upon the proposed maximum
     offering price per share of the Common Stock as set forth in the
     Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-37609), as
     amended, multiplied by 85%, which is the percentage of the trading
     purchase price applicable to purchases under the referenced Plan.

                                      -2-
<PAGE>
 
                                    PART II
              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.   INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.
          --------------------------------------- 

       The following documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "Commission") are hereby incorporated by reference:
                 ----------                                        

          (a) The Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-
37609) filed on October 10, 1997, as amended, under the Securities Act of 1993,
as amended (the "Act") which contains audited financial statements for the
Registrant's latest fiscal year for which such statement has been filed.

          (b)  Not applicable.

          (c) The description of the Registrant's Common Stock contained in the
Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Commission under
Section 12 of the Exchange Act on October 10, 1997, including any amendment or
report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

       All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been
sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed
to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part
hereof from the date of filing such documents.

Item 4.   DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.  Not applicable.
          -------------------------                  

Item 5.   INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.  Not applicable.
          --------------------------------------                  

Item 6.   INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
          ----------------------------------------- 

       The Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation reduces the liability of
a director to the corporation or its shareholders for monetary damages for
breaches of his or her fiduciary duty of care to the fullest extent permissible
under Delaware law.  The Bylaws of the Registrant further provide for
indemnification of corporate agents to the maximum extent permitted by the
Delaware General Corporation Law.   In addition, the Registrant has entered into
Indemnification Agreements with its officers and directors.
 
Item 7.   EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.  Not applicable.
          -----------------------------------

Item 8.   EXHIBITS.
          --------

           Exhibit
           Number
           ------

           5.1    Opinion of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation (see 
                  p.7)

           23.1   Consent of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation 
                  (included in Exhibit 5.1)

           23.2   Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors (see p.8). 

           24.1   Powers of Attorney (see p.6). 

                                      -3-
<PAGE>

Item 9.   UNDERTAKINGS.
          ------------ 

       The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

          (1) to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement.

          (2) that, for purposes of determining any liability under the
Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

          (3) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of
the offering.

       The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement
shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

       Insofar as the indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and
is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant
in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered hereunder, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel
the question has already been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a
court of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification
by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be
governed by the final adjudication of such issue.


                           [Signature Pages Follow]

                                      -4-
<PAGE>
 
                                  SIGNATURES


       Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant, Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, a corporation organized and
existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, certifies that it has
reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing
on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Diego,
State of California, on this 24th day of November, 1997.

                                   Applied Micro Circuits Corporation
 
 
                                   By: /s/ JOEL O. HOLLIDAY
                                       --------------------
                                       Joel O. Holliday
                                       Chief Financial Officer

                                      -5-
<PAGE>
 
                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

       KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints David M. Rickey and Joel O. Holliday,
jointly and severally, his or her attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with the
power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name,
place or stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this
Registration Statement on Form S-8, and to file such amendments, together with
exhibits and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, granting to each attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary
to be done in and about the premises, as fully as he or she might or could do in
person, and ratifying and confirming all that the attorneys-in-fact and agents,
or his or her substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue
hereof.

       Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.

SIGNATURE                      TITLE                         DATE
---------                      -----                         ----
 
/s/ DAVID M. RICKEY            President and                 November 24, 1997
-------------------            Chief Executive Officer
    David M. Rickey
 
/s/ JOEL O. HOLLIDAY                                         November 24, 1997
--------------------           Chief Financial Officer
    Joel O. Holliday
 
/s/ ROGER A. SMULLEN           Director and Chairman of the  November 24, 1997
--------------------           Board of Directors
    Roger A. Smullen
 
/s/ WILLIAM K. BOWES, JR.      Director                      November 24, 1997
-------------------------
    William K. Bowes, Jr.
 
/s/ R. CLIVE GHEST             Director                      November 24, 1997
------------------
    R. Clive Ghest
 
/s/ FRANKLIN P. JOHNSON, JR.   Director                      November 24, 1997
----------------------------
    Franklin P. Johnson, Jr.
 
/s/ ARTHUR B. STABENOW         Director                      November 24, 1997
----------------------
    Arthur B. Stabenow

                                      -6-
<PAGE>
 
                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
 
 
 Exhibit                                                                Page
 Number                                                                 No.
 ------                                                                 ----
 <C>         <S>                                                        <C>
   5.1       Opinion of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation    7
                                                                        ----
   23.1      Consent of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation    
             (included in Exhibit 5.1).                                  7
                                                                        ---- 
   23.2      Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors
             (see p. 8).                                                 8
                                                                        ----
   24.1      Powers of Attorney (see p. 6).                              6
                                                                        ----
 
</TABLE>
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 14772}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "APPLIED MICRO CIRCUITS CORP", "cik": "0000711065", "assigned-sic": "3674", "irs-number": "942586591", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "0331"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-40905", "film-number": "97727352"}, "business-address": {"street1": "6290 SEQUENCE DRIVE", "city": "SAN DIEGO", "state": "CA", "zip": "92121", "phone": "6194509333"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "6290 SEQUENCE DRIVE", "city": "SAN DIEGO", "state": "CA", "zip": "92121"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 24, 1997
                                                 Registration No. 333-__________
================================================================================

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
                               ________________

                                   FORM S-8

                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                               ________________

                      APPLIED MICRO CIRCUITS CORPORATION
            (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

          DELAWARE                                      94-2586591
 (State of incorporation)                   (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

                              6290 SEQUENCE DRIVE
                         SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA  92121
                   (Address of principal executive offices)
                            _______________________

                       1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                           (Full title of the Plan)
                            _______________________

                                DAVID M. RICKEY
                     PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                      APPLIED MICRO CIRCUITS CORPORATION
                              6290 SEQUENCE DRIVE
                         SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA  92121
                                (619) 450-9333
(Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
                            _______________________
                                   Copy to:

                               Mark A. Medearis
                                Glen Van Ligten
                               Venture Law Group
                          A Professional Corporation
                              2800 Sand Hill Road
                         Menlo Park, California 94025
                                (415) 854-4488

                               Page 1 of 9 Pages
                            Exhibit Index on Page 9
              (Calculation of Registration Fee on following page)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                              Proposed     Proposed                    
                                             Maximum          Maximum       Maximum     Amount of            
                                           Amount to be       Offering     Aggregate   Registration                          
Title of Securities to be Registered       Registered(1)     Price Per      Offering       Fee
                                                               Share         Price              
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
     Common Stock,
     $0.01 par value..........              400,000           $8.50 (2)    $3,400,000   $1,030.30
                                             Shares
--------------------
(1)  This Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of
     Common Stock which become issuable under any of the Plans being registered
     pursuant to this Registration Statement by reason of any stock dividend,
     stock split, recapitalization or any other similar transaction effected
     without the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the
     number of the Registrant's outstanding shares of Common Stock.

(2)  Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933
     (the "Securities Act") solely for the purpose of calculating the
           --------------                                            
     registration fee. The computation is based upon the proposed maximum
     offering price per share of the Common Stock as set forth in the
     Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-37609), as
     amended, multiplied by 85%, which is the percentage of the trading
     purchase price applicable to purchases under the referenced Plan.

                                      -2-
PART II
              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.   INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.
          --------------------------------------- 

       The following documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "Commission") are hereby incorporated by reference:
                 ----------                                        

          (a) The Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-
37609) filed on October 10, 1997, as amended, under the Securities Act of 1993,
as amended (the "Act") which contains audited financial statements for the
Registrant's latest fiscal year for which such statement has been filed.

          (b)  Not applicable.

          (c) The description of the Registrant's Common Stock contained in the
Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Commission under
Section 12 of the Exchange Act on October 10, 1997, including any amendment or
report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

       All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been
sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed
to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part
hereof from the date of filing such documents.

Item 4.   DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.  Not applicable.
          -------------------------                  

Item 5.   INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.  Not applicable.
          --------------------------------------                  

Item 6.   INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
          ----------------------------------------- 

       The Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation reduces the liability of
a director to the corporation or its shareholders for monetary damages for
breaches of his or her fiduciary duty of care to the fullest extent permissible
under Delaware law.  The Bylaws of the Registrant further provide for
indemnification of corporate agents to the maximum extent permitted by the
Delaware General Corporation Law.   In addition, the Registrant has entered into
Indemnification Agreements with its officers and directors.
 
Item 7.   EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.  Not applicable.
          -----------------------------------

Item 8.   EXHIBITS.
          --------

           Exhibit
           Number
           ------

           5.1    Opinion of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation (see 
                  p.7)

           23.1   Consent of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation 
                  (included in Exhibit 5.1)

           23.2   Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors (see p.8). 

           24.1   Powers of Attorney (see p.6). 

                                      -3-
Item 9.   UNDERTAKINGS.
          ------------ 

       The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

          (1) to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement.

          (2) that, for purposes of determining any liability under the
Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

          (3) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of
the offering.

       The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement
shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

       Insofar as the indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and
is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant
in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered hereunder, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel
the question has already been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a
court of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification
by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be
governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                           [Signature Pages Follow]

                                      -4-
SIGNATURES

       Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant, Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, a corporation organized and
existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, certifies that it has
reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing
on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Diego,
State of California, on this 24th day of November, 1997.

                                   Applied Micro Circuits Corporation
 
 
                                   By: /s/ JOEL O. HOLLIDAY
                                       --------------------
                                       Joel O. Holliday
                                       Chief Financial Officer

                                      -5-
POWER OF ATTORNEY

       KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints David M. Rickey and Joel O. Holliday,
jointly and severally, his or her attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with the
power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name,
place or stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this
Registration Statement on Form S-8, and to file such amendments, together with
exhibits and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, granting to each attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary
to be done in and about the premises, as fully as he or she might or could do in
person, and ratifying and confirming all that the attorneys-in-fact and agents,
or his or her substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue
hereof.

       Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.

SIGNATURE                      TITLE                         DATE
---------                      -----                         ----
 
/s/ DAVID M. RICKEY            President and                 November 24, 1997
-------------------            Chief Executive Officer
    David M. Rickey
 
/s/ JOEL O. HOLLIDAY                                         November 24, 1997
--------------------           Chief Financial Officer
    Joel O. Holliday
 
/s/ ROGER A. SMULLEN           Director and Chairman of the  November 24, 1997
--------------------           Board of Directors
    Roger A. Smullen
 
/s/ WILLIAM K. BOWES, JR.      Director                      November 24, 1997
-------------------------
    William K. Bowes, Jr.
 
/s/ R. CLIVE GHEST             Director                      November 24, 1997
------------------
    R. Clive Ghest
 
/s/ FRANKLIN P. JOHNSON, JR.   Director                      November 24, 1997
----------------------------
    Franklin P. Johnson, Jr.
 
/s/ ARTHUR B. STABENOW         Director                      November 24, 1997
----------------------
    Arthur B. Stabenow

                                      -6-
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit                                                                Page
 Number                                                                 No.
 ------                                                                 ----
5.1       Opinion of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation    7
                                                                        ----
   23.1      Consent of Venture Law Group, a Professional Corporation    
             (included in Exhibit 5.1).                                  7
                                                                        ---- 
   23.2      Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors
             (see p. 8).                                                 8
                                                                        ----
   24.1      Powers of Attorney (see p. 6).                              6
                                                                        ----