It occupies the inner part of the Baltic Sea inlet Kieler Förde and includes the approach to the locks at the eastern end of Kiel Canal.

[4] At the southern end of Kieler Förde lies the Inner Harbour (German: Stadthafen) with passenger terminals Ostseekai and Schwedenkai in the west and Norwegenkai on the eastern side.

Located on the east bank of Kieler Förde, Ostuferhafen (English: East Side Harbour) is the largest coherent part of the port with a total area of 500,000 m² and a quay length of 1,700 m. It is primarily a cargo harbour with ro-ro and container terminals for the liner traffic to Northern Sweden, Russia and the Baltic states.

Nordhafen is situated on the southern side of the canal and has facilities for timber, bulk cargo, ro-ro, and container vessels.

[1] Behind Puttgarden on Fehmarn and Rostock, Kiel is Germany's third busiest port for international passenger traffic.