Light flyweights were limited to those boxers weighing less than 48 kilograms (105.8 lbs).
29 boxers qualified for this category after the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships and 9 Continental Qualification Tournaments.
The only Olympic medalist to participate in the flyweight at the Beijing Games is the host country boxer, Zou Shiming, bronze at the 2004 Games and defending World Champion.
Like all Olympic boxing events, the competition was a straight single-elimination tournament.
Both semifinal losers were awarded bronze medals, so no boxers competed again after their first loss.