2018 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs
The 2018 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 22 January to 20 February 2018. A total of 13 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide five of the 36 places in the group stage of the 2018 AFC Cup.
Teams
The following 13 teams, split into five zones, entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of two rounds:- 6 teams entered in the [|preliminary round].
- 7 teams entered in the [|play-off round].
| Zone | Teams entering in play-off round | Teams entering in preliminary round |
| West Asia Zone | ||
| Central Asia Zone |  Khujand |  Ahal Dordoi |
| South Asia Zone |  Bengaluru TC Sports Saif Transport United | |
| ASEAN Zone |  Lao Toyota Boeung Ket Angkor | |
| East Asia Zone |  Hwaebul Erchim |
Hilal Format
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The five winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 31 direct entrants.
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg.
Play-off West Asia
- Al-Suwaiq advanced to Group A.
Play-off Central Asia
- Ahal advanced to Group D.
Play-off South Asia
- Bengaluru advanced to Group E.
Play-off ASEAN
- Boeung Ket Angkor advanced to Group F.
Play-off East Asia
- Hwaebul advanced to Group I.
Preliminary round
Summary
A total of six teams played in the preliminary round.Central Asia Zone
Ahal won 5–3 on aggregate.South Asia Zone
Bengaluru won 3–0 on aggregate.----
TC Sports won 4–1 on aggregate.