The first ever involvement of the club in European competitions was in the 1963 Mitropa Cup.
The club's first ever European match was against Austria Wien in the 1963 Mitropa Cup.
Željezničar is most famous for becoming the first Bosnian football club to reach both the UEFA Cup (now named UEFA Europa League) semi-finals during the 1984–85 season and the quarter-finals during the 1971–72 season, and one of the first few clubs ever to do so from the former Yugoslavia.
[1] In modern times, the clubs best finish in European competitions was reaching the 2002–03 Champions League third qualifying round, losing to Newcastle United.
Since recent renovations at Grbavica, the club has been playing its home matches back at their home ground since July 2017.