[3] Among the sports represented by the nation's athletes, Malaysia made its Olympic debut in golf (new to the 2016 Games), as well as its return to weightlifting after an eight-year absence.

The Malaysian team featured two Olympic medalists from London, including platform diver Pandelela Rinong, who became the first female from her country to stand on the podium, and badminton superstar Lee Chong Wei, who sought redemption for the nation's first ever gold after losing two previous finals to China's Lin Dan in the men's singles.

[1][5] Apart from the medalists, eleven Malaysian athletes previously competed in London, including track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, and badminton tandem Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying.

[7] Among the nation's medalists were Awang, who became the first track cyclist from Southeast Asia to stand on the Olympic podium, and Pandelela, who upgraded her individual bronze from London to share a silver with her partner Cheong Jun Hoong in the synchronised platform diving.

Three Malaysian archers qualified for the men's events by virtue of the nation's podium finish in the team recurve competition at the 2016 Archery World Cup meet in Antalya, Turkey.

443) qualified directly among the top 60 eligible players for their respective individual events based on the IGF World Rankings as of 11 July 2016.