The Leipzig class was a class of two light cruisers of the German Reichsmarine and later Kriegsmarine; the class comprised Leipzig, the lead ship, and Nürnberg, which was built to a slightly modified design. The ships were improvements over the preceding Königsberg-class cruisers, being slightly larger, with a more efficient arrangement of the main battery and improved armor protection. Leipzig was built between 1928 and 1931, and Nürnberg followed between 1934 and 1935.

Both ships participated in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and 1937. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, they were used in a variety of roles, including as minelayers and escort vessels. On 13 December, both ships were torpedoed by the British submarine HMS Salmon. They were thereafter used in secondary roles, primarily as training ships, for most of the rest of the war. Leipzig provided some gunfire support to German Army troops fighting on the Eastern Front.

Both ships survived the war, though Leipzig was in very poor condition following an accidental collision with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen late in the war. Leipzig was therefore used as a barracks ship before being scuttled in 1946. Nürnberg, however, emerged from the war largely unscathed, and as a result, was seized by the Soviet Navy as war reparations, and commissioned into the Soviet fleet as Admiral Makarov; she continued in Soviet service until the late 1950s, and was broken up for scrap by 1960.

The two ships of the Leipzig class were not identical, prompting some naval historians to classify them as separate designs, rather than as a ship class. Of the two, Nürnberg was larger. Leipzig was 165.8 m (544 ft) long at the waterline and 177 m (580 ft 9 in) long overall. She had a beam of 16.3 m (53 ft 6 in) and a maximum draft of 5.69 m (18 ft 8 in) forward. She displaced 6,820 metric tons (6,710 long tons; 7,520 short tons) as designed and 8,100 metric tons (8,000 long tons; 8,900 short tons) at full load. Nürnberg was slightly longer, at 170 m (557 ft 9 in) at the waterline and 181.3 m (594 ft 10 in) overall. Her beam was identical to Leipzig, but her draft was slightly greater, at 5.74 m (18 ft 10 in) forward. She displaced 8,060 metric tons (7,930 long tons; 8,880 short tons) as designed and 9,040 metric tons (8,900 long tons; 9,960 short tons) fully loaded.

The ships' hulls were divided into fourteen watertight compartments and had double bottoms that ran for 83 percent of the length of their keels. Both vessels had side bulges and bulbous bows. They were constructed with longitudinal steel frames, and were more than 90 percent welded in order to save weight. Nürnberg had a large, blocky forward superstructure, while Leipzig's superstructure resembled that of the preceding Königsberg class. Nürnberg also had a large searchlight platform fitted on the funnel, while Leipzig did not.

Leipzig initially had a crew of 26 officers and 508 enlisted men. Later in her career, the crew grew to 30 officers and 628 sailors and then again to 24 officers and 826 sailors. She could also accommodate an admiral's staff of 6 officers and 20 enlisted men when she was serving as a flagship. Nürnberg's crew started as 25 officers and 648 ratings, and over the course of her career swelled to 26 officers and 870 enlisted men. The ships carried two picket boats, two barges, two launches, and two cutters.

Both ships carried one aircraft catapult for a pair of Heinkel He 60 biplane reconnaissance float planes. They were equipped with a crane to retrieve the aircraft after landing. The He 60s were later replaced by the monoplane Arado Ar 196 by 1939. Leipzig's catapult was located between the funnel and the forward superstructure, while Nürnberg's was placed aft of the funnel.

The ships' propulsion system consisted of two steam turbines manufactured by the Deutsche Werke and Germaniawerft shipyards, along with four 7-cylinder double-acting two-stroke diesel engines built by MAN. Steam for the turbines was provided by six Marine-type double-ended, oil-fired, water-tube boilers, which were vented through a single large funnel located amidships. The engines were rated at 60,000 shaft horsepower (45,000 kW) for the turbines plus 12,400 shp (9,200 kW) for the central diesel engines. The ship's propulsion system provided a top speed of 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph) and a range of approximately 3,900 nautical miles (7,200 km; 4,500 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) using only the diesel engines. With only the turbines in operation, the ships could steam for 2,800 nmi (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at a speed of 16.5 kn (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).