Built to be able to serve with the main German fleet and as a colonial cruiser, she was armed with a battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a top speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph).

Gazelle initially operated with the main fleet in home waters, during which time she made a major cruise to Spain to greet the German expeditionary force that had been sent to suppress the Boxer Uprising.

In 1902, she was sent overseas; slated to join the East Asia Squadron, she instead was diverted to Venezuela in response to rising tensions that ultimately produced the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903.

During the crisis, she operated with British and Italian warships in a blockade of the country and her crew seized the gunboat Restaurador, pressing her into German service.

Following the settlement of the dispute, Gazelle cruised in North and Central American waters, visiting numerous ports in the region.

Gazelle carried 500 t (490 long tons) of coal, which gave her a range of 3,570 nautical miles (6,610 km; 4,110 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

She was launched on 31 March 1898 in the presence of Victoria, the widow of the late Kaiser Friedrich III, and her daughter-in-law, Princess Irene.

Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Alfred von Tirpitz christened the ship at her launching, after which fitting-out work commenced.

She was commissioned for sea trials on 23 November, which revealed problems with her French-designed Niclausse boilers that necessitated decommissioning for modifications on 6 April 1899.

While there, on 1 August, the ships rendezvoused with the four Brandenburg-class battleships and their escorts in Lisbon, Portugal, which were returning from their deployment to help suppress the Boxer Uprising in Qing China.

During the maneuvers, the fleet held a naval review for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who was visiting Germany at the time.

[6] The two ships assisted in the evacuation of German and French nationals from La Guaira and Carúpano to protect them from expected fighting, carrying them to Saint Thomas in the Dutch Virgin Islands.

Restaurador was then pressed into German service, under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant) Titus Türk, along with a crew of three other officers, a machine operator, and fifty men from Gazelle.

During this time, Gazelle operated on the blockade line, and on 4 January, she stopped a Venezuelan merchant ship and seized her, taking her to Trinidad.

The blockade ended on 23 February with a negotiated settlement, and Türk handed Restaurador back to the Venezuelan Navy in a condition better than when the Germans had seized the vessel.

[10] Gazelle then joined Vineta for a cruise in North American waters that included a stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the ships then entered the Saint Lawrence River, steaming as far inland as Montreal, Canada.

By the end of the year, Gazelle lay off Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic; she had sent a landing party ashore to protect the German consulate owing to unrest in the country.

She joined IV Battle Squadron for a sweep into the Gulf of Finland that lasted from 24 to 29 August, during which she cruised on a patrol line between Gotland and Courland.

On 22 February, the German Navy decided the old cruiser was not worth repairing, and so she was placed out of service, with her crew being used to man more modern vessels.