Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal average. The team with the most points were crowned champions while the two teams with the fewest points were relegated to their respective Regionalliga divisions.
Sixteen teams were chosen from all Oberliga teams on both competitive and infrastructural aspects. The West and South divisions supplied five teams each, three clubs came from the North, while the Southwest provided two participants. The final member was chosen from the Oberliga Berlin.
The selection of teams for the inaugural Bundesliga season was controversial. Alemannia Aachen and Kickers Offenbach believed that they should have been chosen, due to their superior record over division rivals over the previous twelve seasons. They were not selected due to their relatively poorer performance in the seasons immediately preceding the start of the Bundesliga.
Source: DFB Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. Notes:
^The Hamburger SV v Borussia Dortmund match from 7 December 1963 was suspended after 61 minutes and a score of 1–2 due to poor visibility caused by heavy fog. The replay took place on 21 December 1963 and finished with a score of 2–1.[5]