The 1988 Currie Cup Division B (known as the Santam Bank Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the second division of the Currie Cup competition, the 49th season in the since it started in 1889.
There were six participating teams in the 1988 Currie Cup Division B. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away. Teams received two points for a win and one points for a draw. The top two teams qualified for the Division B finals, played at the home venue of the higher-placed team.
The top team on the log qualified for the promotion play-offs. That team played off against the team placed seventh in Division A over two legs. The winner over these two ties qualified for the 1989 Currie Cup Division A, while the losing team qualified for the 1989 Currie Cup Division B.
As champions of Division B, Northern Free State qualified to the semi-finals of the main Currie Cup competition, where they met Division A runners-up Western Province.
In the promotion play-offs, Northern Free State beat Free State on aggregate and won promotion to Division A. Free State were initially relegated, but Division A was expanded to 8 teams and they retained their place.[3]