2016 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds
The 2016 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds were played from 12 February to 20 April 2016. A total of 55 teams competed in the qualifying rounds to decide the eight places in the group stage of the 2016 CAF Champions League.
Draw
The draw for the preliminary, first and second rounds was held on 11 December 2015 in Dakar, Senegal.
The entry round of the 55 teams entered into the draw was determined by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons.
| Entry round | First round | Preliminary round |
| Teams |
|  AS Vita Club  Stade Malien  Wydad Casablanca  ASEC Mimosas  Club Africain  Enyimba  Recreativo do Libolo  Saint George  MO Béjaïa AS Tanda Olympique Khouribga Union Douala Étoile du Congo Onze Créateurs Warri Wolves Kaizer Chiefs Mamelodi Sundowns Al-Ahli Tripoli Ashanti Gold ZESCO United AS Douanes Niamey Chicken Inn Centre Chiefs RC Bobo Dioulasso Vital'O AS CotonTchad Volcan Club Racing de Micomeseng AS Mangasport Gamtel Horoya Gor Mahia Lioli Nimba United CNaPS Sport Cercle de Joachim Ferroviário Maputo APR Sporting Praia Cruz AS Douanes Dakar St Michel United Al-Ghazal Mbabane Swallows Young Africans Vipers Mafunzo |
Al-Ahly 
Al-Hilal Format
In the qualifying rounds, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.| Round | First leg | Second leg |
| Preliminary round | 12–14 February 2016 | 26–28 February 2016 |
| First round | 11–13 March 2016 | 18–20 March 2016 |
| Second round | 8–10 April 2016 | 19–20 April 2016 |
Bracket
The eight winners of the second round advanced to the group stage, while the eight losers of the second round entered the Confederation Cup play-off round.