Burundi competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016.

Nine athletes, five men and four women, were selected to the Burundian team across three different sports, with nearly half of them having previously competed at London 2012.

[2] Among the Burundian athletes on the team were world indoor champion Francine Niyonsaba, second-place finalist in the women's 800 metres, marathoner Diane Nukuri, and long-distance runner Olivier Irabaruta, who became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

It was awarded to Niyonsaba, who rebounded from an out-of-podium feat back in London to end Burundi's 20-year drought with a silver in her pet event.

Burundi received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.