The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany.

The original league of this name existed from 1947 to 1963 and was then the first tier of German football, covering the same region as the "new" Oberliga Nord.

The new Oberliga Nord however was only the third tier of the German football league system, replacing at this level the four Landes- and Amateurligas of Niedersachsen, Hamburg, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein, who now slipped to the fourth tier of the league system.

In 1994, Niedersachsen, the largest of the four states, split its league into an eastern and a western group, a system already in place until 1964.

Due to the difference in playing strength of the Verbandsligas, champions were not directly promoted but had to go through a play-off system.

Eight teams in two divisions were qualified for this competition, with three clubs from Niedersachsen, two each from Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein and one from Bremen, to balance out the difference between the leagues.

Liga and of a third Regionalliga in 2008, the Oberliga Nord again ceased to exist, being replaced by the five Verbandsligas in its stead.