Judge Thokozile Masipa also gave Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms charge.
The parents of Reeva Steenkamp told the BBC they were happy with the sentence and relieved the case
was over. The defence said it expected Pistorius to serve about 10 months in prison.
Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of murder.
Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and the defence had argued for community service and house arrest.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux said his client was expected to serve 10 months in prison, with the rest under house arrest.
Dup De Bruyn, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family, told Reuters that "justice was served", although he believed Pistorius would probably serve two years.
Pistorius's uncle, Arnold, said: "We accept the judgment. Oscar will embrace the opportunity to pay back to society."
He appealed to the media to "accept the ruling of court and let us move forward in this process and
give us some degree of dignity and privacy".
He said the family would support and guide the athlete as he served his sentence.
The BBC's Nomsa Maseko, outside court, says opinion there was divided on the sentence, with some saying it was too light, others that it was fair.
She says Pistorius, who has been taken away from court in a police van, will be evaluated over the next
few hours in prison to decide where he will be staying based on his disability.
Judge Masipa said she considered her sentence "fair and just, both to society and to the accused".
She said: "A non-custodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community. On the other hand, a long sentence would also not be appropriate either, as it would lack the element of mercy."
Judge Masipa said that nothing she could say or do could bring back Reeva Steenkamp, but "hopefully, this judgment on sentence shall provide some sort of closure for the family".
The judge begun reading her decision by saying there must be a balance between retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation.
In summarising the evidence, she described defence witness and social worker Annette Vergeer as
"slapdash and disappointing".
Ms Vergeer had argued Pistorius would be "a lot more vulnerable than the normal man" in jail.
But Judge Masipa said she was sure prisons were equipped to cater for the requirements of a special needs inmate.
She also said she had a "feeling of unease" at what she called an overemphasis on the athlete's vulnerability.
However, she said Pistorius had made an "enormous contribution to society", in his charity work and in
changing the public perception of disability.
The judge also said: "It would be a sad day for this country if an impression were to be created that
there was one law for the poor and disadvantaged, and another for the rich and famous."
The three-year suspended term was for unlawfully firing a gun in a restaurant, in a separate incident
before the Steenkamp killing.
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