2015–16 Liga I
The 2015–16 Liga I was the 98th season of the Liga I, the top professional league for Romanian association football clubs. The season began 10 July 2015 and ended on 29 May 2016, being the first to take place since the play-off/play-out format has been introduced.
FC Steaua București were the defending champions for a third consecutive time, but they did not retain the title. Astra Giurgiu became winners for the first time in their history.
Teams
The last six teams from the 2014–15 season were relegated to their respective 2015–16 Liga II division. Gaz Metan Mediaș, Brașov, Universitatea Cluj, Rapid București, Oțelul Galați and Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.The first team from each of the two divisions of 2014–15 Liga II advanced to Liga I. Voluntari promoted as the winners of Seria I. It is their first season in Liga I. ACS Poli Timișoara promoted as the winners of Seria II. It is their second season in Liga I.
Venues
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Astra Giurgiu |  | Valerică Găman |  Puma | :ro:InterAgro|InterAgro |
| Botoșani | |  Michael Ngadeu |  Nike | Elsaco |
| CFR Cluj |  | Mário Camora |  Joma | :ro:EnergoBit|EnergoBit |
| Concordia Chiajna | |  Christian Obodo |  Lotto | — |
| CSMS Iași | | Ionuț Voicu | Nike | Blue Air |
| Universitatea Craiova | |  Valentin Iliev | Joma | — |
| Dinamo București | | Paul Anton | Nike | Orange |
| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | | Dan Nistor | Jako | :ro:Complexul Energetic Oltenia|Complexul Energetic Oltenia |
| Petrolul Ploiești | | Alberto Cobrea | Nike | SuperBet |
| Poli Timișoara | | Cristian Scutaru | Joma | Casa Rusu |
| Steaua București | |  Fernando Varela | Nike | City Insurance |
| Târgu Mureș | | Gabriel Mureșan | Joma | :ro:EnergoBit|energo+ |
| Viitorul Constanța | | Florin Cernat | Nike | Lotto Snacks |
| Voluntari | | Vasile Maftei | Puma | Primăria Orașului Voluntari |
Managerial changes
Regular season
In the regular season the 14 teams will meet twice, a total of 26 matches per team, with the top 6 advancing to the Championship round and the bottom 8 qualifying for Relegation round.Table
Results
Positions by round
Championship play-offs
The top six teams from Regular season met twice for places in 2016–17 UEFA Champions League and 2016–17 UEFA Europa League as well as deciding the league champion. Teams started the Championship round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season.Table
Results
Positions by round
Relegation play-outs
The bottom eight teams from regular season will meet twice to contest against relegation. Teams start the Relegation round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season. The winner of the Relegation round finishes 7th in the overall season standings, the second placed team – 8th, and so on, with the last placed team in the Relegation round being 14th.Table
Results
Positions by round
Promotion/relegation play-offs
The 12th-placed team of the Liga I faces the winner of the match between second place from Liga II, Seria I and second place from Seria II.First round
Second round
Notes:- Voluntari qualified for 2016–17 Liga I and UTA Arad qualified for 2016–17 Liga II.
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ioan Hora | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 19 |
| 2 | Denis Alibec | Astra Giurgiu | 16 |
| 3 | Florin Tănase | Viitorul Constanța | 15 |
| 4 | Nicolae Stanciu | Steaua București | 12 |
| 4 |  Cristian López | CFR Cluj | 12 |
| 4 |  Harlem Gnohéré | Dinamo București | 12 |
| 4 |  Bojan Golubović | CSMS Iași | 12 |
| 8 | Adrian Bălan | Voluntari | 11 |
| 9 |  Gonzalo Cabrera | Botoșani | 10 |
| 10 | Constantin Budescu1 | Astra Giurgiu | 8 |
| 10 | Florin Cernat | Viitorul Constanța | 8 |
| 10 |  Nuno Rocha | Universitatea Craiova | 8 |
| 10 | Dorin Rotariu | Dinamo București | 8 |
1 Constantin Budescu was transferred to Dalian Yifang during the winter transfer window.
Hat-tricks
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets* |
| 1 | Branko Grahovac | CSMS Iași | 14 |
| 1 | Alexandru Marc | CFR Cluj | 14 |
| 3 |  Vytautas Černiauskas | Dinamo București | 13 |
| 4 | Cristian Bălgrădean | Universitatea Craiova / Concordia Chiajna | 12 |
| 5 | Eduard Stăncioiu | Târgu Mureș | 10 |
| 6 | Silviu Lung | Astra Giurgiu | 9 |
| 7 | Florin Niță | Steaua București | 8 |
| 8 | Pedro Mingote | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 7 |
| 9 | Victor Rîmniceanu | Viitorul Constanța | 6 |
| 9 | Răzvan Stanca | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 6 |
| 11 | Sascha Kirschstein | ACS Poli Timișoara | 5 |
| 12 | Valentin Cojocaru | Steaua București | 4 |
| 12 | Florin Matache | Concordia Chiajna | 4 |
| 12 | Alberto Cobrea | Petrolul Ploiești | 4 |
| 12 | Răzvan Pleșca | Botoșani | 4 |
* Only goalkeepers who played all 90 minutes of a match are taken into consideration.
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 13
- * Adrian Ropotan
- * Gabriel Mureșan
- Most red cards: 3
- * Steliano Filip
Club
- Most yellow cards: 119
- *Petrolul Ploiești
- Most red cards: 14
- *Târgu Mureș
Monthly awards