2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
The 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off was played from 27 January to 9 February 2016. A total of 21 teams competed in the qualifying play-off to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
Teams
The following 21 teams entered the qualifying play-off, which consisted of three rounds :- Two teams entered in the [|preliminary round 1].
- Seven teams entered in the [|preliminary round 2].
- Twelve teams entered in the [|play-off round].
| Zone | Teams entering in play-off round | Teams entering in preliminary round 2 | Teams entering in preliminary round 1 |
| West Zone |
| ||
| East Zone |  Pohang Steelers FC Tokyo Adelaide United Shanghai SIPG | Shandong Luneng Muangthong United Chonburi Hà Nội T&T Kitchee Yangon United Johor Darul Ta'zim |  Mohun Bagan Tampines Rovers |
Al-Ittihad
Naft Tehran
Bunyodkor
Al-Jazira
Al-Sadd
Al-WehdatFormat
In the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.| Round | Match date |
| Preliminary round 1 | 27 January 2016 |
| Preliminary round 2 | 2 February 2016 |
| Play-off round | 9 February 2016 |
Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match. Teams from the same association could not be placed in the same play-off.
Play-off West 1
advanced to Group A.Play-off West 2
advanced to Group D.Play-off West 3
advanced to Group B.Play-off West 4
advanced to Group C.Play-off East 1
advanced to Group H.Play-off East 2
advanced to Group E.Play-off East 3
advanced to Group F.Play-off East 4
advanced to Group G.Preliminary round 1
!colspan=3|East Zone
Preliminary round 2
!colspan=3|East Zone
Play-off round
!colspan=3|West Zone
!colspan=3|East Zone
West Zone
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East Zone
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