The Oberliga (English: Upper League) is the third tier of ice hockey in Germany, below DEL2 and ahead of the Regionalliga.

The Oberliga was originally founded in 1948 and is administered by the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB).

The Oberliga has been the top, second and third level of ice hockey in the German league pyramid throughout its history.

The German Ice Hockey Federation decided to form the Eishockey-Bundesliga to replace the Oberliga as the new top division.

The league reunited in a single division in 1970, now with a strength of 16 teams and direct promotion to the Bundesliga.

1973 saw DEB introduce a new second division to the German ice hockey pyramid, with the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga.

The Oberliga was demoted to become the new German third division (third highest level of ice hockey in Germany).

The top two teams out of the two divisions originally played out a promotion round to the 2nd Bundesliga which also served to determine the Oberliga champion.

Those second division clubs that did not elect to join the DEL were integrated into the new 1st Liga, which had replaced the Oberliga and operated in a northern and a southern group.

From 1999, the league returned to its traditional name Oberliga, with two regional groups, north and south.

In the 2008–09 season, the league played in a single-division format, before switching to four regional divisions with an Oberliga championship at the end from 2010 onwards.