The town originally shared its name with the city of Dunkirk in current-day France; therefore, in the 13th century, Oost- was added to its name to avoid confusion with its namesake further to the west.

Oostduinkerke's sandy beach stretches from 250 to 700 metres (270 to 800 yards) at ebb-tide and extends over 30 km (20 miles), via De Panne to the beach of Dunkirk (France), which explains why Oostduinkerke is popular with sand yachters and parakarters.

[citation needed] Oostduinkerke is known for its shrimpers on horseback, a considerable tourist attraction.

The practice was once common across the coastal areas of the North Sea, but today it is only present in Oostduinkerke, where 17 fishers remain active as of 2021.

The National Fishery Museum gives a historical survey of Flemish fishery and shows among other things scale models of fishing boats from 800 AD up to the present, and an original fisherman's cottage.