The season featured sixteen clubs, ran from 28 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
The premiership was won by the Brisbane Lions for the second time and second time consecutively, after it defeated Collingwood by nine points in the AFL Grand Final.
All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 176.
Note: Adelaide played its "home" final at the MCG despite being ranked above Melbourne due to the agreement then in place with the Melbourne Cricket Club that at least one game each week of the finals be played at the MCG.
The largest non-finals attendance was 84,894 people for the Collingwood v Essendon game in round 5.