[10] The draw for the final tournament was held on 12 September 2015, 12:00 AST (UTC+3), at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar.

[11] Qatar (hosts; position A1) Iraq Saudi Arabia Jordan South Korea Syria Australia Japan United Arab Emirates Iran North Korea Uzbekistan China Yemen Thailand Vietnam The following referees were chosen for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.

[12] As the tournament was not held during the FIFA International Match Calendar, clubs were not obligated to release the players.

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary.

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Qatar, Syria and Yemen each had at least two players born on 1 January 1993, the cut off date for eligibility in this tournament.