The 2016 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the NCAA Division II women's college basketball national champion.

The eight regional winners met for the quarterfinal and semifinals, better known as the "Elite Eight" and "Final Four" respectively, championship rounds for the second-consecutive year at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

[1] In their first season of NCAA postseason eligibility after transitioning from the NAIA, the Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps completed an undefeated season by defeating the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 78–73.

The only blemish in the Lady Chaps' season was a 95–39 exhibition loss to eventual Division I champion Connecticut that did not count toward either team's official record.

Twenty-four teams qualified for the tournament by winning their conference's automatic bid.