A Staten Island man described by law-enforcement authorities as the No. 2 leader in the Gambino crime family was killed yesterday by a bomb that exploded when he opened the door of a car in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.

The dead man was identified as Frank DeCicco, of 1300 Forest Hill Road, Willowbrook, S.I., who became the second in command to John Gotti, reputed head of the Gambino family, earlier this year.

Mr. Gotti took over the Mafia family, the authorities said, less than a month after the previous head of the group, Paul Castellano, was shot to death. Retaliation Suspected

Last night, Federal and local law-enforcement officials said it was most likely that Mr. DeCicco was slain in retaliation for Mr. Castellano's murder or as part of a power struggle within the Gambino family.
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Law-enforcement officials said Mr. DeCicco's death appeared to be the latest in a series of recent upheavals in the New York City underworld as a result of a major Federal crackdown on underworld activities. [ Page B10. ] The blast also seriously injured a man who had been standing with Mr. DeCicco at the time of the blast. He was identified as Frank Bellino, 69 years old, of 219 Cortelyou Avenue, Great Kills, S.I. and described by the authorities as a member of the Luchese organized-crime family.

A woman who was passing by also received minor injuries when, according to the authorities, an ''explosive device'' attached under the front end of a gray, four-door 1985 Buick Electra went off, causing the vehicle to burst into flames and shattering windows in buildings near the corner of Bay 8th and 86th Streets.

The two men were standing on the sidewalk by the car when the explosion occurred at 1:45 P.M., the police said. Lieut. Richard Rosa of the 62d precinct said Mr. DeCicco had opened the passenger side door.

''DeCicco took the brunt of the blast,'' Lieutenant Rosa said.

A police officer, Carmine Romeo, who saw the explosion said a black, mushroom-shaped cloud rose from the vehicle and flames burst from its windows. The bomb blasted a hole two feet wide in the street and shook buildings for several blocks. Bellino's Car Nearby

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According to a police spokesman, Sgt. Diane Kubler, the men were taken to Victory Memorial Hospital, where Mr. DeCicco, who was 52, was pronounced dead. Mr. Bellino was described as in very serious condition, Sergeant Kubler said.
The two men were believed to have come to the car from a social club or an Italian restaurant nearby. The police said a white Cadillac owned by Mr. Bellino was parked a short distance away.

The car that was blown up was not owned by either of the men, according to Capt. Michael Julian, another department spokesman.

But law-enforcement officials last night said they believed Mr. DeCiccio had been driving the Buick for nearly a year.

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The car was registered to Angelo Giammarino, 46, of 684 Sheldon Avenue, Annadale, S.I., Captain Julian said. A man who answered the telephone at the Giammarino residence and identified himself as Mr. Giammarino's son, Carmine, said that a car matching the description of the vehicle in the explosion belonged to his father. Carmine Giammarino said his father was at work, but declined to describe his occupation. Method of Detonation Unknown

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Investigators were trying to determine whether the bomb was detonated by a radio signal, by a timer, when the car door was opened, or by another method, the police said.

In January, law-enforcement authorities said that John Gotti, the reputed head of the Gambino crime family, had named Mr. DeCicco as his underboss, or second in command.

On Dec. 16, Mr. Castellano, who was 70 years old and had led the Gambino family since 1976, and a top aide, Thomas Bilotti, 45, were killed in a burst of gunfire outside a restaurant on East 46th Street between Second and Third Avenues.
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The designation of Mr. DeCicco as underboss was viewed by city, state and Federal organized-crime intelligence analysts as an effort by Mr. Gotti to pacify rival factions in the Gambino group after Mr. Castellano's murder. Mr. Gotti was considered an opponent of Mr. Castellano, while Mr. DeCicco was viewed as loyal to him, officials said.

Last week in Brooklyn, jury selection began in the trial of Mr. Gotti and six other defendants on Federal racketeering charges. It was not immediately clear last night what effect, if any, the death of Mr. DeCicco would have on the trial. Officer Witnessed Explosion

Officer Romeo, who was 100 feet behind the parked car issuing a summons witnessed the explosion, Sergeant Kubler said. She said Officer Romeo pulled both men away from the car, helped extinguish the burning clothes of one of the victims and drove them to the hospital in his police van.

After the explosion the sidewalk, in a mixed commercial and residential block, was smeared with blood and dotted with scattered pieces of charred clothing.

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The police closed two blocks of the street for several hours while investigators sifted through the rubble and work crews cleaned the area. The street near the bomb site is lined by gasoline stations, small businesses and restaurants, most of them occupying the first floors of row houses.

The injured passer-by, a 53-year-old woman who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said she was on her way to her mother's house directly across the street from the explosion to celebrate the 46th birthday of her sister. 'The House Shook'

She said she was about 50 feet from the explosion, and added: ''I felt the vibrations, then the blast. I never went through anything like it before. It was a terrible, terrible thing.'' She was treated and released from Victory Memorial Hospital.
The injured woman's sister, Anna Saburro, said as she stood in front of the house at 448 86th Street amid broken glass and charred pieces of the car: ''We were just about to sit down, have dinner, then share a birthday cake when we heard this big boom. Everything in the house shook, pictures started falling. We all jumped up. I will never, never forget this birthday.''

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Police investigating the bombing last night visited what they described ''a social club'' at 1628 Bath Avenue, several blocks from the bombing site, that Mr. DeCicco was said to frequent.

The police said they confiscated several firearms at the site and arrested Robert Fappiano, 43, of 68 Bay 13th Street in Brooklyn, and charged him with unlawful possession of a 9-millimeter pistol.

The owner of an Italian restaurant directly across the street from where the car was parked said that Mr. DeCicco and Mr. Bellino were ''very good customers'' of his establishment but had not been in the restaurant before the explosion.

Tommaso Verdillo, the owner of Tommaso's Italian restaurant at 1464 86th Street, said that one of his employees told him the car had not been parked there when he parked his own car across the street at 11 A.M.

Mr. Tommaso said the explosion was ''low sounding, but very forceful'' and shook the building housing his restaurant.