To the west it shares a border with the Lankwitz locality of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, to the east with Britz and Buckow, parts of the borough of Neukölln.

Mariendorf was mentioned for the first time in a document of 1348, when it was held by the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order of Saint John (the Johanniterorden).

Beginning in 1872, a Villenkolonie ("mansion colony") was developed in the south end of Mariendorf, and by 1900 the village had 5,764 inhabitants.

The Trabrennbahn (harness racing track) opened in 1913, and in 1920 Mariendorf became formally amalgamated into the greater city of Berlin.

In 1946, Mariendorf's Eisenacher Straße was the site of a displaced persons´ camp which housed roughly 3,250 persons until 1948.