The 2017 AFC Cup qualifying round was played from 19 to 25 August 2016. A total of nine teams competed in the qualifying round to decide three places in the qualifying play-offs of the 2017 AFC Cup.
<section begin=Teams /> The following nine teams from nine associations entered the qualifying round. Teams were not split into zones for the qualifying round.
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count all those since the 2004 season (including both competition proper and qualifying rounds).
<section end=Teams />
Rovers were the first team from Guam to play in an AFC club competition.
<section begin=Draw /> The draw for the qualifying round was held on 17 June 2016, 11:00 MYT (), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The nine teams were drawn into three groups of three.<section end=Draw />
For the draw, the pre-selected hosts were placed in their own pot, while the remaining teams were seeded according to the performance of their association in the 2016 AFC Cup qualifying round, with associations participating ranked and associations not participating unranked.
<section begin=Format /> In the qualifying round, each group was played on a single round-robin basis at the pre-selected hosts. The winners of each group advanced to the qualifying play-offs.<section end=Format />
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.4):
The schedule of each matchday was as follows.
<section begin=Group A /> <section end=Group A />
<section begin=Group B /> <section end=Group B />
<section begin=Group C /> <section end=Group C />