The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed in 1918 and was initially divided into provinces (this division was inherited from previous state administrations).

In 1922, new administrative units known as oblasts (Slovene: oblasti) were introduced and the whole country was divided into 33 oblasts.

Before 1922, the territory of the Maribor Oblast was part of the Province of Slovenia and the Province of Croatia and Slavonia.

The Maribor Oblast was composed of the traditional regions of Lower Styria, Slovene Carinthia, Prekmurje, which were predominantly Slovene-speaking, and Međimurje, which was predominantly Croatian-speaking.

The Oblast bordered Austria to the north, Hungary to the east, Ljubljana Oblast to the west and Zagreb Oblast to the south.