The 1978 OFC U-20 Championship was a soccer tournament held in New Zealand.

As in common with other biennial OFC U-20 Championships it also served as a qualification for an intercontinental play-off.

The following teams entered the tournament: It is unclear why Fiji finished second in this group, with a lesser goal difference than New Zealand.

Australia failed to qualify for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.

They finished last in an inter-continental qualification group with Paraguay and Israel.