Fifteen Estonian athletes competed in London, with discus thrower and 2008 champion Gerd Kanter, rowers Tõnu Endrekson and Andrei Jämsä, and épée fencer Nikolai Novosjolov headed to their fourth Games as the most experienced competitors of the team.

[3][4] Other notable athletes on the Estonian roster featured Greco-Roman wrestler and 2012 silver medalist Heiki Nabi in the super heavyweight category, and Laser sailor Karl-Martin Rammo, who was selected by the committee as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

It was awarded to the rowing foursome of Endrekson, Jämsä, and three-time Olympians Allar Raja and Kaspar Taimsoo in the men's quadruple sculls, rebounding from their out-of-medal position at London 2012.

[6][7] Several Estonian athletes advanced further to the finals of their respective sporting events, but came closest to the medal haul, including the women's épée team, discus throwers Kanter and Martin Kupper, hurdler Rasmus Mägi, and Nabi, who could not reproduce his podium feat from London after losing the bronze to Russia's Sergey Semenov.

[12][13] Estonian riders qualified for a maximum of two quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 15 final national ranking in the 2015 UCI Europe Tour.

[15] Nikolai Novosjolov, who competed at his fourth Olympics, secured a spot in the men's épée as one of the two highest-ranking fencers coming from the Europe zone outside the world's top eight qualifying teams in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings.