The preliminary round was played in the autumn.
The top six teams continued the title play-off in the spring, taking half their points obtained in the preliminary round.
The last two teams faced the top four of the Esiliiga in the Meistriliiga transition tournament.
Eesti Põlevkivi Jõhvi and Lelle, the teams finishing in the last two positions in the preliminary round, faced four best teams of the 1997–98 Esiliiga in the play-off for two places in the 1998 Meistriliiga.
This article about an Estonian association football competition is a stub.