In 57 BC Julius Caesar's troops conquered what is now Belgium and the southern part of the Netherlands. The tribes in the area were subjected to Roman rule. This marked the end of the pre-history of the Netherlands. Julius Caesar's own 'Commentarii de Bello Gallico' gives an account of the relevant campaigns. Slightly later, Tacitus reports in his 'Historiae' on events in the area in 69-70 AD. He gives a particularly detailed account of an uprising led by Claudius Civilis, a Batavian chieftain who had commanded the Batavian auxiliaries in the Roman army for many years but united several tribes in revolt against Roman rule following the death of Emperor Nero. Claudius Civilis was supported by Gauls but was eventually defeated after a bitter struggle and probably withdrew north of the Rhine.

During the Roman period, the Rhine marked the northern frontier of the Roman empire in the Netherlands. Forts were built at present-day Valkenburg, Utrecht and Nijmegen. The Frisians, who lived in the area now known as the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen, were not under Roman rule, although they did have close trading relations with the Romans. Because the areas where the Frisians lived were regularly inundated by the sea, they built artificial mounds (known as 'terps' ) to raise their settlements above the level of the floods. South of the Rhine, large villas were built where the native inhabitants lived Roman-style in relative luxury and farmed the land using slaves, according to Roman custom.

The reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117) saw a long period of peace and relative prosperity, during which the Roman-occupied Netherlands became part of the province of Germania Inferior. In the course of the 3rd century AD, Roman power began to weaken. The Germanic tribes which had united and collectively become known as the Franks and the Saxons made ever more frequent incursions into the Roman-occupied area and in 406 a great invasion of Gaul finally put an end to Roman rule in the Low Countries.