Twelve teams qualify for the men's and women's tournaments in Olympic handball. 

France, who is the host country, will have automatic qualification for its men's and women's handball teams at the Paris Games. The rest of the teams earn qualification through the World Championships, Continental Championships and Olympic Qualification Tournaments. 

The teams that win gold at the World Championships secure their spot at the Games. In the  Continental Championships, four teams in each gender will qualify for the Olympics by winning their respective tournaments. After that, teams have one final chance to book their ticket to Paris through the Olympic Qualification Tournaments, which allows six teams per gender to qualify. The Olympic Qualification Tournaments are made up of three tournaments for men and three for women.

The following nations have qualified for the Games this summer in the men's tournament: 

• Group A: Spain, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden Japan
• Group B: Denmark, Norway, Hungary, France, Egypt, Argentina

The following nations have qualified for the Games this summer in the women's tournament: 

• Group A: Norway, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea
• Group B: Hungary, Netherlands, Spain, France, Brazil, Angola