The qualifying round for the 1968 UEFA European Championship consisted of 31 teams divided into eight groups; seven of four teams and one of three teams.

Each group winner progressed to the quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis.

The winners of the quarter-finals would go through, to the final tournament.

If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tie-breakers were used to determine the final ranking: Group 8's results were formed by combining the results of the 1966–67 and 1967–68 editions of the British Home Championship.