The 2016 World Rugby U20 Trophy was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, second-tier world championship.

[1] The event was held in Harare, Zimbabwe and was organized by rugby's governing body, World Rugby.

As the host nation, Zimbabwe qualified automatically, as did Samoa for being relegated from 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.

The remaining six countries competed through a qualification process in their regional competitions (Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Europe).

A total of 8 teams played in the tournament.