Germany competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. A total of 439 athletes were nominated to participate in the Games. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (, DOSB) nominated athletes on 29 May, 23 June and 15 July 2008. Reaching the qualification standard set by the relevant sport's international governing body did not automatically mean that the athlete was nominated for Beijing, as the DOSB had stricter qualification standards. An athlete needed to have a somewhat realistic chance for a top 12 position. An exception to this are the team events, as the number of competing teams is already very limited through the IOC standards, and a chance for a respective place is already given by the qualification.
<small><nowiki>*</nowiki> The athlete who finished in second place, Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine, tested positive for a banned substance. Both the A and the B tests were positive, therefore Blonska was stripped of her silver medal, and all German heptathletes moved up a position.</small>
<small>Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final</small>
<small> After the Grand Prix, the score of each individual rider is cleared, meaning only the scores of the Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix Freestyle add up to the final score and are relevant for the rank of a rider in the individual competition. Only the 15 best riders of the Grand Prix Special advance to the Freestyle.</small>
<small><nowiki>#</nowiki> - Indicates that points do not count in team total<br/> Only a certain number of individual riders are allowed to advance to the final and of one nation, maximal three individual riders can advance. The riders who did not advance to the individual final are ranked after all of the riders who did, their final rank being determined by their total penalties gained in the competition up to that point (dressage, cross-country and jumping qualifier).</small>
<small>Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage</small>
<small>M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated â did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled</small>
Germany entered a team in the men's tournament. The team lost all games but one in the group play, and did not advance, finishing tied for 9th place.
Germany participated in the men's tournament, where the team finished in 10th place.
<small>All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8).</small>