It began on 1 August 2003 and concluded on 22 May 2004.
The promoted teams were SC Freiburg, 1.
FC Köln and Eintracht Frankfurt.
FC Köln returned to the top flight after an absence of one year while Eintracht Frankfurt returned to the top fight after an absence of two years.
FC Nürnberg and Energie Cottbus, ending their top flight spells of one, two and three years respectively.