Diving at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's 3 metre springboard

The women's 3 metre springboard was one of four diving events included in the Diving at the 1996 Summer Olympics programme.

The competition was split into three phases:


 * Preliminary round: 30 July — Each diver performed a set number of dives without any limitation on the difficulty degree. The 18 divers with the highest total score advanced to the semi-final.
 * Semi-final: 30 July — Each diver performed a set number of dives without any limitation on the difficulty degree. The 12 divers with the highest combined score from the semi-final and preliminary dives advanced to the final.
 * Final: 31 July — Each diver performed a set number of dives, without limitation on the difficulty degree. The final ranking was determined by the combined score from the final and semifinal dives.