This article details the qualification schedule and matches for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

Players born 1 January 2001 or later were eligible to participate in the competition.

A total of 8 teams, including automatically qualified hosts Morocco, qualified to play in the group stages of this edition of the tournament, which also doubled as the first stage of the African qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in France.

[1] Eighteen best teams from the previous edition and its qualification procedures were given a bye to the second round.

Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away, two-legged basis.

All matches were played during the FIFA International Window and its schedules were as follows:[2]

DR Congo won 1–0 on aggregate, but later got disqualified and had its result forfeited for fielding ineligible players.

DR Congo won 5–4 on aggregate but was later disqualified, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.