[4][5] Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao won their sixth consecutive title of the league.

The run-up to the season saw clubs spend £200 million on players.

Guizhou Renhe were relegated after a 14-year spell in the Chinese top-flight, while Shanghai Shenxin were relegated to China League One after spending 6 seasons in the Chinese Super League.

Source: sports.ifeng.com (in Chinese) Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan outfield players (Contracts signed before 1 January 2016 doesn't count on the foreign or Asian player slot in CSL)[39] Source:[40][41] † † Updated to games played on Feb. 11th, 2017Source: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [32]Notes:† Teams played previous season in CL1.

The awards of 2016 Chinese Super League were announced on 5 November 2016.