Born in 1557 as the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga, Nobutada was entrusted with part of the family headship at a young age and campaigned across the country, including in eastern Mino and against the Takeda. During Nobunaga's 1577 invasion of Saika in Kii Province, he captured Nakano Castle (Kishi Castle), a satellite stronghold of the Saika-shu, and set up his headquarters there, directing the assault that led Suzuki Magoichi and the Saika forces to surrender that March. In the 1582 Koshu campaign he served as supreme commander and destroyed Takeda Katsuyori, ending the Takeda clan. On June 2 of that year, when the Honnoji Incident broke out near his father's lodging, Nobutada barricaded himself in the Nijo Shingosho and resisted Akechi Mitsuhide's forces, but ultimately took his own life, overwhelmed by superior numbers. He was 26.

Possessing martial skill and leadership that rivaled his father Nobunaga's, he earned enough trust to command regional armies while still young. He showed cold, decisive judgment during the Takeda campaign, and at the Honnoji Incident displayed a warrior's resolve by fighting to the very end.

Though he was expected to succeed his father, he died alongside him at Honnoji, precipitating the rapid collapse of the Oda regime. His command role in the Kishu Saika campaign — including the capture of Nakano Castle — and as supreme commander of the Koshu campaign shows he was a capable general in his own right, not merely an heir apparent.