Twelve teams qualified for the women's field hockey at the 2020 Summer Olympics . Each of the Continental Champions from five confederations received an automatic berth. Japan as the host nation qualified automatically. In addition, the remaining six nations will be determined by an Olympic qualification event. As hosts Japan also won the Asian Games title, a seventh quota place was added to the Olympic qualification event.[1]
| Event | Dates | Location(s) | Quota | Qualifier(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | 1 | ||||
| 2018 Asian Games | 19 August – 1 September 2018 | Jakarta | – | – | |
| 2019 Pan American Games | 29 July – 9 August 2019 |  Lima | 1 | ||
| 2019 African Olympic Qualifier | 12 – 18 August 2019 | Stellenbosch | 1 | ||
| 2019 EuroHockey Championship | 17 – 25 August 2019 |  Antwerp | 1 | ||
| 2019 Oceania Cup | 5 – 8 September 2019 |  Rockhampton | 1 | ||
| 2019 FIH Olympic Qualifiers | 25 October – 3 November 2019 | Various | 7 | ||
| Total | 12 | ||||
– Japan qualified both as the hosts and the continental champions, therefore that quota is added to the FIH Olympic Qualifiers rather than going to the runners-up of the tournament.[1]
See main article: Field hockey at the 2018 Asian Games – Women's tournament.
The champion of the women's field hockey tournament at the 2018 Asian Games qualifies for the Olympics. If Japan is the winner, the quota place is added to the qualification events rather than going to the runner-up.[1]
| Rank | width=170 | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 | ||
| 8 | ||
| 9 | ||
| 10 |
See main article: Field hockey at the 2019 Pan American Games – Women's tournament.
See main article: 2019 Women's African Olympic Qualifier.
See main article: 2019 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship.
See main article: 2019 Women's Oceania Cup.
See main article: 2019 Women's FIH Olympic Qualifiers. Originally, twelve teams were to take part in the Olympic Qualifiers. These teams were to be drawn into six pairs; each pair playing a two-match, aggregate score series. The winner of each series qualified for the Olympics. As Japan won the 2018 Asian Games (thereby qualifying twice, once as host and once as Asian champions), there were 14 teams, seven of whom qualified.[1]