1996 IIHF European Women Championships

The format remained unchanged from the previous year, with promoted Russia replacing Denmark who were relegated from the 1995 tournament

The Pool A tournament was held in Yaroslavl, Russia, while Pool B took place in Trnava and Piešťany in Slovakia. The tournament was the final European Championship ever to be held, with the IIHF revamping the World Championships to create yearly tiered divisions.

Teams & Format
Six teams completed in Pool A, with Russia joining the group after winning the 1995 Pool B tournament. The teams were:



A single round robin was played between the teams, with the top ranked team winning the championship.

Teams & Format
The eight teams that competed in Pool B were:



Kazakhstan replaced Ukraine after they withdrew from the competition.

The teams were split into two groups of four teams as below. At the end of the group stage, the teams would play the team that finished in the same position in the opposite group in a playoff match, i.e. Winner of Group A played Winner of Group B for the Gold Medal.