He seemed to break down during the hearing, almost bent over double, sobbing and shaking.
The judge mentioned premeditated murder, which is a more serious charge and Pistorius will be kept at Brookyln police station until Tuesday or Wednesday, when he has his 'application for bail' hearing.
The South African Olympics and Paralympic star arrived at the Pretoria Magistrates Court in the back of a police vehicle, hiding his face with a jacket and a notepad.
Pistorius arrived at court not wearing a belt or tie - they were carried in for him by somebody else.
It has been claimed that 29-year-old FHM model Steenkamp was shot four times through a bathroom door at Pistorius's home.
A 9mm pistol was recovered from the scene.
In court his father, Henke, leaned forward and placed a hand on the runner's back as he sobbed.
Pistorius's advocate said his client was in an 'extreme traumatised state of mind' and does not want the trial televised. The court agreed and it will not be shown.
Filming and photography is allowed in court before the session starts. Audio recording of the judgement will be permitted.
As well as his father, the 26-year-old's brother Carl and sister Aimee are in the front row in a heaving court room. Henke said Pistorius was 'sad' following the shooting.
He told SABC radio news: 'I don't know the facts. If anyone makes a statement, it will have to be Oscar. He's sad at the moment.'
The couple had been dubbed the Posh and Becks of South Africa.
The defence is expected to argue that gold-medallist Pistorius is not a flight risk and should be bailed.
The hearing came after a two-hour delay while Pistorius' lawyers objected to the scrum of local and international reporters packed into the courtroom.
Pretoria chief magistrate Desmond Nair told him: 'Take it easy. Come take a seat.'
Forensic experts are expected to continue examining the house in the upmarket Silver Woods gated community.
Court officials tried to get people in court to turn their phones off - thereby preventing tweeting - but the order was relaxed.
Near the home, people who knew Pistorius recalled a much-loved local hero.
'Some of us were in tears,' said Precious, who works at a petrol station where Pistorius used to fill up his McLaren supercar, signing autographs and picking up the tab for people in the convenience store.
'He was just so kind to everyone,' Precious said.
Initial reports suggested the model may have been mistaken for a burglar, but Brigadier Denise Beukes later said police were 'very surprised' by that suggestion, adding: 'These allegations did not come from us.'
There had been previous incidents of a 'domestic nature' at the property on the exclusive, gated Silver Lakes Golf Estate in the South African capital Pretoria, she added. A 9mm pistol was recovered.
Police spokeswoman Lt Col Katlego Mogale said: 'Paramedics declared the woman dead on the scene and police proceeded with their investigation.
'The woman sustained wounds to her head and the upper body.'
Police said an application for bail by Pistorius's lawyer Kenny Oldwage would be opposed when he appears in court.
Dressed in a grey hooded jacket, tracksuit trousers and trainers, Pistorius walked with head bowed from the Boschkop police station yesterday before being taken to Pretoria's Mamelodi Day Hospital in a police convoy.
Brig Beukes said the medical examination was 'standard procedure'.
Pistorius's spokesman, from the Fast Track agency in London, said he was 'assisting the police with their investigations' but no further comment could be made until matters became clearer.
Initial rumours suggested the shooting may have been a Valentine's Day surprise gone wrong.
The couple had only been going out since November.
Miss Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, tweeted the day before Valentine's Day: 'What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow??? #getexcited #ValentinesDay.'
Pistorius appeared to have serious concerns about his safety and was said to sleep with a revolver by his side.
Sportsmail's Jonathan McEvoy interviewed him last summer and noted: 'This being South Africa, one baseball bat and one cricket bat lie behind Pistorius's bedroom door.
'A revolver is at his bedside. A machine gun by his window.'
The athlete made history at the London 2012 Olympics becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete in the able-bodied Games, running in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
The star was born without fibulas and underwent below-the-knee amputations at just 11 months old.
He had to win a legal battle over his blades with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2008 for the right to compete in able-bodied competition.
Pistorius's father said his son was 'sad' following the shooting.
Henke Pistorius told SABC radio news: 'I don't know the facts. If anyone makes a statement, it will have to be Oscar. He's sad at the moment.'
The couple were dubbed the Posh and Becks of South Africa.
On her Twitter biography, Miss Steenkamp described herself as a 'Model, Cover Girl, Tropika Island Of Treasure Celeb Contestant, Law Graduate, Child of God'.
Tropika island Of Treasure is a TV show she was due to appear on this weekend.
Miss Steenkamp's publicist Sarit Tomlinson paid tribute to her, saying she was 'the sweetest human being and an absolute angel on earth'.
She added: 'She was the kindest, most unbelievable girl.'
She told Sky News: 'It's shocking. No one knows what happened. We're waiting for information.
South African newspapers plastered the killing across their front pages, relegating a State of the Nation address by President Jacob Zuma in parliament to a distant second.
The coverage reflected shock and dismay at the fall of a sporting hero who commanded rare respect on all sides of South Africa's racial divides.
'Golden Boy Loses Shine' ran a front page headline in the Sowetan, beside a picture of Pistorius, head bowed in a grey hooded tracksuit being led away from a police station.
Callers to morning radio shows expressed remorse at the death of Steenkamp, who had been due to give a talk at a Johannesburg school this week about violence against women.
There was also widespread disbelief at the fate of a sporting legend regarded as a genuinely 'good guy'.
'How is it possible for one so high to fall so low so quickly?' Talk Radio 702 host John Robbie said.
Meanwhile, South Africa's M-Net cable TV channel pulled adverts featuring the star off air after his arrest.
Nike, along with most of his sponsors, said they would not make any decisions until the police investigation was completed.
His sponsorship deals - with firms including BT, sunglasses maker Oakley and French designer Thierry Mugler - are thought to be worth around £1.3 million a year.
'There are people we are waiting to speak to, to validate some of the stories.'
Great Britain 400m runner Martyn Rooney was training with Pistorius in South Africa last week. He said: 'My thoughts and prayers go out the families and friends of those involved.'
Asked about Miss Steenkamp's relationship with Pistorius, Ms Tomlinson said: 'They had been together for a couple of months and it's been a fabulous relationship - a healthy, fabulous relationship.'
Miss Steenkamp's friend Mashadi Motsogi broke down in tears.
The distressed model said she heard the news of Miss Steenkamp's death on Twitter.
'I have lost a friend,' she said, telling reporters that Miss Steenkamp's death in a secure complex did not make sense.
'Look, security here is safe. We moved to this area for security reasons. It does not make sense to me that my friend was shot, mistaken for an intruder.'
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