The 1997–98 UEFA Champions League had two qualifying rounds to determine which 16 teams would play in the group stage, along with the eight teams that had qualified automatically. Teams from the higher-ranked UEFA nations received byes to the second qualifying round. Losing teams in the first qualifying round were eliminated from European competition for the season, while the losing teams from the second qualifying round were put into the draw for the first round of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup.
First qualifying round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derry City  | 0–3 |  Maribor Branik | 0–2 | 0–1 | 
| Košice  | 4–0 |  ÍA | 3–0 | 1–0 | 
| Partizan .svg.png.webp) | 1–5 |  Croatia Zagreb | 1–0 | 0–5 | 
| Valletta  | 1–2 |  Skonto | 1–0 | 0–2 | 
| Pyunik  | 3–6 |  MTK Hungária | 0–2 | 3–4 | 
| Crusaders .svg.png.webp) | 2–8 | .svg.png.webp) Dinamo Tbilisi | 1–3 | 1–5 | 
| Sileks Kratovo  | 1–3 |  Beitar Jerusalem | 1–0 | 0–3 | 
| Steaua București  | 5–3 |  CSKA Sofia | 3–3 | 2–0 | 
| Constructorul Chişinău  | 3–4 | .svg.png.webp) MPKC Mozyr | 1–1 | 2–3 | 
| Lantana  | 0–3 |  Jazz | 0–1 | 0–2 | 
| GÍ  | 0–11 |  Rangers | 0–5 | 0–6 | 
| Neftchi Baku  | 0–10 |  Widzew Łódź | 0–2 | 0–8 | 
| Dynamo Kyiv .svg.png.webp) | 6–0 |  Barry Town | 2–0 | 4–0 | 
| Sion .svg.png.webp) | 5–0 |  Jeunesse Esch | 4–0 | 1–0 | 
| Anorthosis .svg.png.webp) | 4–1 | .svg.png.webp) Kareda Šiauliai | 3–0 | 1–1 | 
First leg
| Derry City  | 0–2 |  Maribor | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Židan  59' Gajser  79' | 
| Pyunik  | 0–2 |  MTK Hungária | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Illés  83' Preisinger  90+2' | 
| Crusaders .svg.png.webp) | 1–3 | .svg.png.webp) Dinamo Tbilisi | 
|---|---|---|
| Baxter  71' | Report | Kiknadze  31' Gogichaishvili  50' Mujiri  65' | 
| Partizan .svg.png.webp) | 1–0 |  Croatia Zagreb | 
|---|---|---|
| Isailović  84' | Report | 
| Sileks Kratovo  | 1–0 |  Beitar Jerusalem | 
|---|---|---|
| Karanfilovski  54' (pen.) | Report | 
| Steaua București  | 3–3 |  CSKA Sofia | 
|---|---|---|
| Rotariu  8' Lăcătuș  72' Munteanu  83' | Report | Andonov  47' Nankov  49', 68' | 
| Constructorul Chişinău  | 1–1 | .svg.png.webp) MPKC Mozyr | 
|---|---|---|
| Apachiţei  18' | Report | Berishvili  23' | 
| Lantana  | 0–2 |  FC Jazz Pori | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nieminen  4', 76' | 
| Neftchi Baku  | 0–2 |  Widzew Łódź | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Terlecki  23' Dembiński  43' | 
| Dynamo Kyiv .svg.png.webp) | 2–0 |  Barry Town | 
|---|---|---|
| Rebrov  31' Maksymov  83' | Report | 
| Anorthosis .svg.png.webp) | 3–0 | .svg.png.webp) Kareda Šiauliai | 
|---|---|---|
| Krčmarević  20' Okkas  47', 81' | Report | 
Second leg
| Maribor  | 1–0 |  Derry City | 
|---|---|---|
| Drobne  49' | Report | 
Maribor won 3–0 on aggregate.
| MTK Hungária  | 4–3 |  Pyunik | 
|---|---|---|
| Illés  18', 41' Preisinger  47' Kuttor  74' | Report | Sanamyan  81', 86' Shahgeldyan  85' | 
MTK Hungária won 6–3 on aggregate.
Dinamo Tbilisi won 8–2 on aggregate.
Košice won 4–0 on aggregate.
| Croatia Zagreb  | 5–0 | .svg.png.webp) Partizan | 
|---|---|---|
| Marić  12', 42' Cvitanović  15', 68' Viduka  23' | Report | 
Croatia Zagreb won 5–1 on aggregate.
Skonto won 2-1 on aggregate.
| Beitar Jerusalem  | 3–0 |  Sileks Kratovo | 
|---|---|---|
| Sallói  5' Ohana  34' Hamar  76' | Report | 
Beitar Jerusalem won 3–1 on aggregate.
| CSKA Sofia  | 0–2 |  Steaua București | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Șerban  34' Reghecampf  49' | 
Steaua București won 5–3 on aggregate.
| MPKC Mozyr .svg.png.webp) | 3–2 |  Constructorul Chișinău | 
|---|---|---|
| Denisyuk  7' Lovchev  50' Kushnir  65' | Report | Alexa  32' Comleonoc  69' | 
MPKC Mozyr won 4–3 on aggregate.
| FC Jazz Pori  | 1–0 |  FC Lantana | 
|---|---|---|
| Marco  65' | Report | 
FC Jazz won 3–0 on aggregate.
Rangers won 11–0 on aggregate.
| Widzew Łódź  | 8–0 |  Neftchi Baku | 
|---|---|---|
| Szarpak  6', 76' Kobylański  8', 70' (pen.) Marcin Zając  15' Dembiński  25', 30' Curteian  66' | Report | 
Widzew Łódź won 10-0 on aggregate.
| Barry Town  | 0–4 | .svg.png.webp) Dynamo Kyiv | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Byalkevich  52' Maksymov  64', 77' Vashchuk  79' | 
Dynamo Kyiv won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Jeunesse Esch  | 0–1 | .svg.png.webp) Sion | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Zambaz  89' | 
Sion won 5–0 on aggregate.
| Kareda Šiauliai .svg.png.webp) | 1–1 | .svg.png.webp) Anorthosis | 
|---|---|---|
| Mikalajūnas  24' | Report | Mihajlović  16' | 
Anorthosis won 4–1 on aggregate.
Second qualifying round
Losing teams qualified for the first round of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTK Hungária  | 1–4 |  Rosenborg | 0–1 | 1–3 | 
| Beşiktaş  | 3–1 |  Maribor Branik | 0–0 | 3–1 | 
| Sion .svg.png.webp) | 2–8 |  Galatasaray | 1–4 | 1–4 | 
| Olympiacos  | 7–2 | .svg.png.webp) MPKC Mozyr | 5–0 | 2–2 | 
| Wüstenrot Salzburg  | 0–3 |  Sparta Praha | 0–0 | 0–3 | 
| IFK Göteborg  | 4–1 |  Rangers | 3–0 | 1–1 | 
| Barcelona  | 4–2 |  Skonto | 3–2 | 1–0 | 
| Brøndby  | 3–4 | .svg.png.webp) Dynamo Kyiv | 2–4 | 1–0 | 
| Newcastle United  | 4–3 |  Croatia Zagreb | 2–1 | 2–2 (aet) | 
| Feyenoord  | 8–3 |  Jazz | 6–2 | 2–1 | 
| Bayer Leverkusen  | 6–2 | .svg.png.webp) Dinamo Tbilisi | 6–1 | 0–1 | 
| Košice  | 2–1 |  Spartak Moscow | 2–1 | 0–0 | 
| Steaua București  | 3–5 |  Paris Saint-Germain | 3–0 | 0–5 | 
| Widzew Łódź  | 1–7 |  Parma | 1–3 | 0–4 | 
| Beitar Jerusalem  | 0–3 |  Sporting CP | 0–0 | 0–3 | 
| Anorthosis Famagusta .svg.png.webp) | 2–3 | .svg.png.webp) Lierse | 2–0 | 0–3 | 
Note: Winning teams of the first qualifying round were drawn against teams qualified directly for the second qualifying round. Because of the unequal number of teams (15 and 17), Wüstenrot Salzburg and Sparta Prague had to play against each other.
First leg
| MTK Hungária  | 0–1 |  Rosenborg | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Rushfeldt  87' | 
Note: The first match was abandoned after 68 minutes because the lights went out in the stadium. The leg was replayed from scratch a day later.
| Olympiacos  | 5–0 | .svg.png.webp) MPKC Mozyr | 
|---|---|---|
| Niniadis  51' Gogić  61', 68' Georgatos  77' Alexandris  83' | Report | 
| Brøndby  | 2–4 | .svg.png.webp) Dynamo Kyiv | 
|---|---|---|
| Bagger  21' Daugaard  88' (pen.) | Report | Husin  7' Shevchenko  34' Rebrov  76' Holovko  78' | 
| Newcastle United  | 2–1 |  Croatia Zagreb | 
|---|---|---|
| Beresford  22', 76' | Report | Cvitanović  52' | 
| Feyenoord  | 6–2 |  FC Jazz Pori | 
|---|---|---|
| Van Gastel  14' (pen.), 65' (pen.) Vos  22', 39' Sanchez  58' Van Bronckhorst  85' | Report | Marco  28', 70' | 
| Bayer Leverkusen  | 6–1 | .svg.png.webp) Dinamo Tbilisi | 
|---|---|---|
| Lehnhoff  5' Ramelow  44' Meijer  47', 62' Kirsten  56' Rink  85' | Report | Iashvili  59' | 
| Steaua București  | 3–0 |  Paris Saint-Germain | 
|---|---|---|
| Rotariu  53' (pen.) Şerban  70' Lăcătuş  77' | Report | Guérin  18' Maurice  64' | 
Match awarded because Paris Saint-Germain fielded an ineligible player.
| Widzew Łódź  | 1–3 |  Parma | 
|---|---|---|
| Michalczuk  53' | Report | Chiesa  28', 47', 49' | 
| Anorthosis Famagusta  | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Lierse | 
|---|---|---|
| Okkas  43' Mihajlović  89' | 
Second leg
Beşiktaş won 3–1 on aggregate.
Rosenborg won 4–1 on aggregate.
| MPKC Mozyr .svg.png.webp) | 2–2 |  Olympiacos | 
|---|---|---|
| Berishvili  3' Kushnir  19' | Report | Anatolakis  9' Niniadis  53' | 
Olympiacos won 7–2 on aggregate.
| Sparta Praha  | 3–0 |  Wüstenrot Salzburg | 
|---|---|---|
| Baranek  28' Lokvenc  42' Svoboda  56' | Report | 
Sparta Praha won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Rangers  | 1–1 |  IFK Göteborg | 
|---|---|---|
| Miller  23' | Report | R. Andersson  49' | 
IFK Göteborg won 4–1 on aggregate.
Barcelona won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Dynamo Kyiv .svg.png.webp) | 0–1 |  Brøndby | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Colding  18' | 
Dynamo Kyiv won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Croatia Zagreb  | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |  Newcastle United | 
|---|---|---|
| Šimić  58' Cvitanović  90+2' | Report | Asprilla  44' (pen.) Ketsbaia  119' | 
Newcastle United won 4–3 on aggregate.
| FC Jazz Pori  | 1–2 |  Feyenoord | 
|---|---|---|
| Laaksonen  37' | Report | Boateng  21' Van Gastel  90' | 
Feyenoord won 8–3 on aggregate.
| Dinamo Tbilisi .svg.png.webp) | 1–0 |  Bayer Leverkusen | 
|---|---|---|
| Mujiri  11' | Report | 
Bayer Leverkusen won 6–2 on aggregate.
Košice won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Paris Saint-Germain  | 5–0 |  Steaua București | 
|---|---|---|
| Raí  2', 21' (pen.), 55' (pen.) Simone  30' Maurice  40' | Report | 
Paris Saint-Germain won 5–3 on aggregate.
Parma won 7–1 on aggregate.
| Sporting CP  | 3–0 |  Beitar Jerusalem | 
|---|---|---|
| Yordanov  5' Leandro  55', 63' | Report | 
Sporting CP won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Lierse .svg.png.webp) | 3–0 |  Anorthosis Famagusta | 
|---|---|---|
| Van Meir  21' (pen.) Hasenhüttl  47' Tomić  84' (o.g.) | 
Lierse won 3–2 on aggregate.