Because of the recent change in the FIBA Calendar and the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand in all Asian tournaments, a new competition format was introduced at the start of the 2017 edition. Aside from renaming the tournament to FIBA Under-16 Women's Asian Championship, it is now composed of two divisions (namely Divisions A and B) with a maximum of eight teams each to participate.
Division A teams now contest for the four slots allocated for the FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup, meaning the semifinalists are assured of a seat in the U17 Worlds. Meanwhile, the team that places eighth and last in the division is relegated to Division B in the next tournament. The remaining top seven or eight teams are retained up to the next tournament as well.
Division B teams use the same format as that of Division A, but unlike the previous setup wherein there were qualifying matches for the top two teams of the division, only the Division Champions are promoted to Division A in the next tournament.