Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hilal in the final to win their second AFC Champions League title, and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

[1] Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were the defending champions, but they were excluded from the 2017 season due to a bribery scandal in the domestic K League Classic.

[2] Jeonbuk appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[3] but their request for provisional measures was rejected on 3 February.

[7][9] The slot allocation was announced on 7 December 2016, with India and Maldives returning to the West Region.

The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants.

All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.

In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection.