A poll conducted by the TNS Emnid public opinion research institute revealed that 56 percent of Germans expect terrorist attacks to take place on German soil in 2016, the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported.
A further 38 percent of respondents have rejected the possibility, according to the publication.
The poll has been conducted in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Brussels. At least 31 people were killed and some 300 injured in two bomb blasts in Brussels' Zaventem airport and an explosion at a metro station in the city center. The Islamic State jihadist group, outlawed in many countries, including Russia and the United State, has claimed responsibility for the blasts.
On Thursday, a source from the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) told RIA Novosti that the BND is aware of at least 70 battle-seasoned Islamic State (ISIL) members who have returned home to Germany from Syria.
In 2015, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere put the number of German citizens who had joined the extremist group at some 600, or eight per million.