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We present the results of the first $\gamma$-ray survey of more than 40 cataclysmic variables (CVs) using observations obtained with the COMPTEL instrument on the Compton Observatory. Though no CV was detected, we find an average upper limit to the 1--30 MeV $\gamma$-ray flux of $\sim 3 \times 10^{-6}$ photons cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. This gives an upper limit to the $\gamma$-ray luminosity of $\sim 10^{31}$ erg s$^{-1}$, assuming a typical CV distance of 100 pc. The luminosity upper limit suggests that the conversion efficiency of accretion luminosity to $\gamma$-ray luminosity by non-thermal processes is less than 1\%, consistent with that found at higher $\gamma$-ray energies by EGRET.
