The United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee selected a team of 13 athletes, 9 men and 4 women, to compete in six different sports at the Games.

The Emirati roster featured five naturalized athletes: three Moldovan-born judokas Victor Scvortov, Sergiu Toma, and Ivan Remarenco, and two Ethiopian-born runners Alia Saeed Mohammed and Betlhem Desalegn.

[1][2] United Arab Emirates left Rio de Janeiro with its first Olympic medal since double trap shooter Ahmed Al Maktoum topped the podium in Athens 2004.

Moldovan-born Victor Scvortov and London 2012 Olympian Sergiu Toma were ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while Ivan Remarenco at men's half-heavyweight (100 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the Asian region, as the highest-ranked Emirati judoka outside of direct qualifying position.

[12][13][14] United Arab Emirates has received an unused quota place from IWF to send a female weightlifter to the Olympics.