[3][4] Klaus Havenstein of BSG Chemie Böhlen was the league's top scorer with 15 goals,[5] while Jürgen Croy of BSG Sachsenring Zwickau won the seasons East German Footballer of the year award for a record third time.
[6] On the strength of the 1977–78 title Dresden qualified for the 1978–79 European Cup where the club was knocked out by FK Austria Wien in the quarter-finals.
FC Magdeburg qualified for the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup as the seasons FDGB-Pokal winners and was knocked out by Baník Ostrava in the quarter-finals.
For the first time three East German clubs qualified for the 1978–79 UEFA Cup with third-placed BFC Dynamo being knocked out in the first round by Red Star Belgrade while fourth-placed 1.
FC Lokomotive Leipzig lost to Arsenal, also in the first round and fifth-placed FC Carl Zeiss Jena was defeated by MSV Duisburg in the second round.