The administrative seat and the main town was Rostock.

The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states.

After 3 October 1990 it was dissolved following German reunification, becoming again part of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The Bezirk Rostock, the northernmost of DDR, was situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, in front of the Danish coasts.

The Bezirk was divided into 14 Kreise: 4 urban districts (Stadtkreise) and 10 rural districts (Landkreise): Media related to Rostock District (GDR) at Wikimedia Commons