Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee (PNGOC) sent a team of eight athletes, six men and two women, to compete in six sports at the Games, matching the nation's roster size with London 2012.

[2] Attending his fourth and final Olympics as the oldest (aged 34) and most experienced competitor, butterfly swimmer and former top 8 finalist Ryan Pini reprised his role of leading the delegation for the second time as Papua New Guinea's flag bearer in the opening ceremony, the first having done so eight years earlier in Beijing.

[1][3] Apart from Pini, the Papua New Guinean roster also featured 18-year-old taekwondo fighter Maxemillion Kassman, along with his aunt Samantha, and two returning Olympians from London 2012: sprinter Toea Wisil (women's 100 metres) and judoka Raymond Ovinou (men's 66 kg).

London 2012 Olympian Raymond Ovinou earned a continental quota spot from the Oceania region, as Papua New Guinea's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

[25] Papua New Guinea has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send Morea Baru in the men's featherweight category (62 kg) to the Olympics.