It was the 39th season of the FA Women's Cup and was won by Everton, who defeated Arsenal in the final.

The competition began on 13 September 2009 when the 24 lowest-ranked teams in the tournament took part in the preliminary round, however only eleven games were played due to the withdrawal of Stokesley, allowing Forest Hall YPC to progress to first qualifying round.

A total of 245 teams had their entries to the tournament accepted by The Football Association.

Teams that played in the four regional Combination leagues (South West, South East, Midland and Northern) were given an exemption to the first round proper, while teams in the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division and FA Women's Premier League Southern Division entered at the third round stage.

The games at Arsenal and Everton were played on their original scheduled date of 14 February.