The 2006 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
- (1) New York Mets (East Division champions, 97–65) vs. (4) Los Angeles Dodgers (Wild Card, 88–74); Mets win series, 3–0.
- (2) San Diego Padres (West Division champions, 88–74) vs. (3) St. Louis Cardinals (Central Division champions, 83–78); Cardinals win series, 3–1.
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which was determined by playing record. The Padres were awarded the Western Division title over the Dodgers due to their winning the season series against Los Angeles 13–5.
The Mets and the Cardinals met in the NL Championship Series, with the Cardinals becoming the National League champion and going on to defeat the American League champion Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series.