In July/August 1988 a seismic reconnaisance survey was carried out with F.S. Polarstern on the perennially ice covered East Greenland shelf between latitudes 73°N and 81°N. The data format is Society of Exploration Geophysicists SEG Y. 14 reflection seismic lines with a total length of 2.016 km and 12 sonobuoy refraction profiles were recorded. The following results were obtained: •On the wide Holm Land shelf province north of 79°N three possible Cretaceous rift basins were observed. •A buildup of layered extrusive basaltic rocks forming a wedge of seaward dipping reflectors underlies the Holm Land continental slope. •On the Northeastern Greenland shelf province the existence of a wide sedimentary basin was demonstrated north of 76°N. •South of 76°N four volcanic structures from the continent to ocean were observed: The zone of Early Tertiary plateau basalts (zone I) that occur landward of an escarpment, a flat lying basaltic flow unit immediately seaward of the escarpment (zone II), an elongate wedge of seaward dipping reflectors (zone IIIa), a basaltic flow unit which in places shows seaward dipping beds of short length (zone IIIb), and the oceanic crust. •Dyke swarms and intrusions of inferred Neogene age were recognized at several locations.