The 2016 Challenge Cup, (also known as the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 115th staging of the Challenge Cup the main rugby league knockout tournament for teams in the Super League, the British National Leagues and a number of invited amateur clubs.

The cup was won by Hull F.C. who beat Warrington Wolves 12–10 in the final at Wembley Stadium on 27 August 2016.

The defending champions, Leeds Rhinos who were looking to win the trophy three times in a row were defeated by Huddersfield Giants in the sixth round.

The format of the competition is eight knock-out rounds followed by a final. The first two rounds are composed entirely of amateur teams. The nine winners of the second round ties are joined in round 3 by the 15 Championship 1 teams. For the fourth round the 12 Championship teams are included in the draw. Starting in 2015 and continuing for the 2016 competition round 5 sees four Super League teams entering the competition. These are the four teams that finished in the bottom four positions of the 2015 Super League and are; Widnes Vikings, Hull Kingston Rovers, Salford Red Devils, and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. These are the same four teams that joined at this stage in the 2015 competition. The remaining eight Super League teams join in round 6.

The draw for the first round of the 2016 Challenge Cup was held on 7 January 2016 at Wembley Stadium and featured 36 amateur teams from around the United Kingdom including two student teams, all three armed services and the police. Home teams were drawn by Tom Briscoe and the away teams drawn by Lizzie Jones.

Fixtures for the first round were played over the weekend of the 30–31 January 2016.

The draw for the second round was held at RAF Coningsby on 2 February 2016 and the teams were drawn by Sheffield Eagles coach Mark Aston and Batley Bulldogs coach John Kear.

Ties were played on 13 February.