The club is based on a gymnastics club founded in 1886 as
Turnerbund Jahn Regensburg which took its name from
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, whose ideas of gymnastics greatly influenced German sport in the 19th century. The football department was created in 1907. The footballers left their parent club in 1924 to form
Sportbund Jahn Regensburg. In 1934, they joined
Sportverein 1889 Regensburg and
Schwimmverein 1920 Regensburg to form
SSV which has departments for
athletics,
boxing,
futsal,
gymnastics,
handball,
kendo and
nine-pin bowling. The football department separated in 2000 as
SSV Jahn Regensburg. Despite the 1934 merger of the football section into the wider sports club, the footballing side's best finish in the
Bezirksliga Bayern was a second-place finish in 1930. In the
Gauliga Bayern, one of sixteen top flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the
Third Reich in 1933,
Jahn lasted for only two seasons before being relegated in 1935. It returned in 1937 and their best performances were consecutive third-place finishes in 1938 and 1939 after which they became a less competitive mid-to-lower table side. The club spent most of the period between the end of World War II and the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 as a "
yo-yo team" oscillating between the
Oberliga Süd and the
second division. Regensburg played the early 1960s in the third division before making their way back to the
Regionalliga Süd (II). By the mid-1970s, the team's results worsened and by the end of the decade had become a team mostly playing in the third and fourth divisions, as well as playing three years in the
Landesliga Bayern-Mitte, the fifth tier, in the late 1990s. In 2000 the football team left to become an independent club and were joined by players from
SG Post/Süd Regensburg in 2002. Regensburg played in the
Regionalliga Süd, the third tier since with a single season in the
2. Bundesliga in 2003–04. However, the club faced financial difficulties and narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 2005. After being relegated to the fourth division, the
Oberliga Bayern in 2005–06, Jahn achieved first place in the following season and were promoted back to the Regionalliga Süd. Due to a reorganisation of the leagues, Jahn had to finish in tenth place or higher in order to stay in the third division, which is now the new
3. Liga. Jahn struggled to do so but finished ninth in the end and gained entry to the new league. The club played its first two seasons in the 3. Liga close to the relegation zone but then improved and came third in 2011–12, qualifying to play against the
Karlsruher SC in the promotion round to the 2. Bundesliga. They drew 1–1 at Regensburg and 2–2 at Karlsruhe, which meant Jahn returned to second level after eight years thanks to the
away goal rule. The
Jahn finished last in the 2. Bundesliga in 2012–13 and were relegated back to the 3. Liga, finishing eleventh in 2013–14. In 2014–15 they also finished last in the 3. Liga and were relegated back to the Regionalliga. In the following season, they won the
Regionalliga Bayern and faced the
Regionalliga Nord champions
VfL Wolfsburg II in the play-offs. The club defeated Wolfsburg II 2–1 on aggregate and immediately returned to third level for the 2015–16 season. The following season Jahn finished third in the 3. Liga. As in 2012, they were subsequently promoted to the second tier via the play-off, defeating
1860 Munich 3–1 on aggregate. In 2012, head coach
Markus Weinzierl left Jahn after securing promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, ending a decade-long stint with the club. His successor,
Oscar Corrochano, was sacked within months due to poor results, and subsequent coaches failed to prevent relegation in 2013. After a short stint in the fourth-tier Regionalliga, Regensburg returned to the
3. Liga in 2016 under
Heiko Herrlich, achieving back-to-back promotions to the 2. Bundesliga in 2017. Under
Achim Beierlorzer and later
Mersad Selimbegović, Jahn established itself in the 2. Bundesliga, achieving notable results despite financial limitations. The team became known for comebacks, earning the nickname
Mentalitätsmonster ("Mentality Monster"). A strong
DFB-Pokal run in
2020–21, reaching their first ever quarter-finals in the tournament, highlighted their resilience, but performance declined in later seasons. Relegated again in
2023 after six years in the 2. Bundesliga, the club rebuilt its squad. Despite early dominance in the 3. Liga and a record 10-game win streak, their form dipped dramatically. They narrowly avoided further setbacks, securing promotion through relegation playoffs in
2024. The team dedicated their promotion to their late teammate,
Agyemang Diawusie, who had died earlier in the season. Manager
Joe Enochs, who led the return to the 2. Bundesliga, was dismissed in October 2024 following poor results, including a heavy 8–3 defeat to
1. FC Nürnberg. ==Players==