2006 Winter Olympics – Women's qualification

Qualification for the women's tournament at the ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2004 IIHF Women's World Championship. The top four teams in the World Ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, Italy received an automatic berth as host, and all other teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots in the Olympics.

Qualified Teams

Event	Date	Location	Vacancies	Qualified
2004 IIHF World Ranking, comprising the following events: 2001 IIHF Women's World Championship 2002 Winter Olympic Games 2003 IIHF Women's World Championship 2004 IIHF Women's World Championship	5 March 2001– 6 April 2004	Halifax	4	Canada United States Finland Sweden
Final qualification tournament	November 11–14, 2004	Podolsk	1	Russia
Final qualification tournament	November 11–14, 2004	Bad Tolz	1	Germany
Final qualification tournament	November 11–14, 2004	Beijing	1	Switzerland
Host			1	Italy
TOTAL			8

^Halifax was the site for 2004 World Championship only, thus the site where qualification through the rankings is determined.

Note: Canada had already mathematically qualified after the 2003 World Championships.

Final Qualification Tournaments

Three round robins were played from November 11–14, 2004. The hosts were Nations ranked 5th, 6th, and 7th following the 2004 IIHF Women's World Championship. The three group winners qualified for the Olympic tournament.