The name derives from the river Alster and its artificial lakes Außenalster and Binnenalster in the centre of Hamburg.

On 9 March 2023, a mass shooting occurred at a Jehovah's Witnesses center on Deelböge Street, killing seven people including the gunman and injuring eight others.

[2] In 2006 according to the statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the quarter Alsterdorf has a total area of 3.1 km2 (1 sq mi).

The river Alster floating from Northeast to Southwest is the border to the Groß Borstel quarter in the West.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), in the quarter were 4,847 private cars registered (377 cars/1000 people).