Gordimer, who won the literature prize in 1991, died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Johannesburg on Sunday, the family said in a statement. Her son Hugo and daughter Oriane were with her at the time, it said.
Gordimer wrote 15 novels as well as several volumes of short stories, non-fiction and other works, and was published in 40 languages around the world, according to the family statement, which was released by a law firm.
"She cared most deeply about South Africa, its culture, its people, and its ongoing struggle to realise its new democracy," the family said. They said her "proudest days" included winning the Nobel prize and testifying in the 1980s on behalf of a group of anti-apartheid activists who had been accused of treason.