1:Teams joined Soviet lead boycott 2:Canada was invited to replace Cuba, but rejected the invitation, because COA supposed the team is not good enough. Then, IHF invited Iceland.[2] 3:Brazil and Canada withdraw. So China qualified without play.[3]
Each qualified country was allowed to enter one team of 15 players and they all were eligible for participation. Four nations competed in both tournaments.
A total of 259(*) handball players (177 men and 82 women) from 14 nations (men from 12 nations - women from 6 nations) competed at the Los Angeles Games: