| Competition: | Tippeligaen |
| Season: | 2010 |
| Winners: | Rosenborg 22nd title |
| Relegated: | Hønefoss Kongsvinger Sandefjord |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Rosenborg |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Vålerenga Tromsø Aalesund Strømsgodset |
| Matches: | 240 |
| Total Goals: | 731 |
| League Topscorer: | Baye Djiby Fall (16 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Vålerenga 8–1 Start (2 August 2010) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (5 May 2010) Hønefoss 0–4 Stabæk (22 August 2010) |
| Highest Scoring: | Vålerenga 8–1 Start (2 August 2010) Strømsgodset 5–4 Lillestrøm (7 November 2010) |
| Longest Wins: | 5 games[1] Rosenborg Vålerenga |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 30 games Rosenborg |
| Longest Winless: | 27 games Sandefjord |
| Longest Losses: | 7 games Sandefjord |
| Highest Attendance: | 21,474 Rosenborg 3–0 Hønefoss (16 May 2010)[2] |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,142 Sandefjord 0–1 Lillestrøm (3 October 2010) |
| Average Attendance: | 8,108 9.6% |
| Prevseason: | 2009 |
| Nextseason: | 2011 |
| Dates: | 14 March – 7 November |
The 2010 Tippeligaen was the 66th completed season of top division football in Norway. The competition began on 14 March and ended on 7 November. Rosenborg was the defending champions, having secured their twenty-first league championship in 2009.[3] Haugesund, Hønefoss and Kongsvinger entered as the three promoted teams from the 2009 1. divisjon. They replaced Fredrikstad, Bodø/Glimt and Lyn who were relegated to the 2010 1. divisjon.
On 6 June, Lillestrøm scored three goals in four minutes and 24 seconds, two of them in injury time, to go from 3–0 down to 3–3 away at Molde.[4] Sandefjord lost 5–0 away to Odd Grenland on 26 September. This was their 23rd consecutive top flight match without winning, breaking a record of 22 set by Os in 1975.[5] The streak would continue for four matches, ending at 27 before Sandefjord won in their 28th attempt on the last day of the season, beating Hønefoss 6–1 at home. On 31 October, Rosenborg played Kongsvinger to a 0–0 draw away, making 2010 the second consecutive season without away losses for Rosenborg.[6]
Kongsvinger and Sandefjord were relegated at the end of the 2010 Tippeligaen season after finishing in the bottom two places of the league table. Sandefjord ended a two-year tenure at the highest football level of Norway, while Kongsvinger returned to the 1. divisjon after just one season. They were replaced by 2010 1. divisjon champions Sogndal and runners-up Sarpsborg 08. Sogndal returned to the Tippeligaen after a six-year hiatus, while Sarpsborg 08 made its debut at the Norwegian top-level league.
Hønefoss as 14th-placed Tippeligaen team had to compete in a relegation/promotion playoff with the 1. divisjon teams ranked third through fifth (Fredrikstad, Løv-Ham and Ranheim) for one spot in the 2011 Tippeligaen. This spot was taken by Fredrikstad, who defeated Hønefoss 8–1 on aggregate in the playoff finals and returned to Norway's top flight after just one season. In turn, Hønefoss had to return to the 1. divisjon, also after just one season.
Haugesund and Hønefoss were promoted directly from the 1. divisjon at the end of the 2009 season. Kongsvinger defeated Sarpsborg by 5–4 on aggregate in the final matches of the play-off round between the 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-placed team in the 1. divisjon and the 14th-placed team in the Tippeligaen, giving them the sixteenth and final spot.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kongsvinger |  Trond Amundsen | Resigned | 12 April 2010[7] | 15th |  Tony Gustavsson | 26 April 2010[8] | 15th | |
| Hønefoss | Ole Bjørn Sundgot | Sacked | 18 April 2010[9] | 16th | Tom Gulbrandsen | 18 April 2010 | 14th | |
| Brann | Steinar Nilsen | Mutual agreement | 22 May 2010[10] | 13th | Rune Skarsfjord | 25 May 2010[11] [12] | 13th | |
| Rosenborg | Erik Hamrén | Signed with Sweden | 24 May 2010[13] [14] | 2nd | Nils Arne Eggen | 24 May 2010[15] | 1st | |
| Molde | Kjell Jonevret | Sacked | 30 August 2010[16] | 14th | Uwe Rösler | 30 August 2010 | 11th |
See main article: 2010 Eliteserien promotion/relegation play-offs. At the end of the season, Sandefjord and Kongsvinger were relegated directly to 1. divisjon, and were replaced by Sogndal and Sarpsborg who were directly promoted.
Four teams entered a play-off for the last Tippeligaen spot in the 2011 season. These were:
Kristján Örn Sigurðsson (Hønefoss)The Goalkeeper of the Year awarded to 
Anders Lindegaard (Aalesunds)
The Defender of the Year awarded to Tom Høgli (Tromsø)
The Midfielder of the Year awarded to 
Anthony Annan (Rosenborg)
The Striker of the Year awarded to Mohammed Abdellaoue (Vålerenga)
The Coach of the Year awarded to Jostein Grindhaug (Haugesund)
