The 1997–98 UEFA Champions League had two qualifying rounds to determine which 16 teams would play in the group stage, along with the eight teams that had qualified automatically.
Teams from the higher-ranked UEFA nations received byes to the second qualifying round.
Losing teams in the first qualifying round were eliminated from European competition for the season, while the losing teams from the second qualifying round were put into the draw for the first round of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup.
[1] The national champions from associations 8 and below, along with all league runners-up, entered the qualifying rounds.
[2] The 30 teams were divided into seeded and unseeded pots, each containing 15 teams, for the draw based on their association's ranking.
The 32 teams were divided into seeded and unseeded pots, each containing 16 teams, for the draw based on their association's ranking.
[2][3] The losing teams qualified for the first round of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup.