The 1996 women's Olympic volleyball tournament was the ninth edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body, the FIVB in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee.

In 1991, the International Olympic Committee alongside the FIVB decided to increase the number of countries participating in the women's volleyball tournament at the Summer Olympic Games from 8 to 12 and thus equalize the number of athletes in the two tournaments.As the men's event, the tournament was played in two different stages.

In the Preliminary round (first stage), the twelve participants were divided into two pools of six teams.

The Final round was played in a single elimination format, with placement matches determining the top eight positions.

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