The competition exists out of a single round-robin, each team playing another once, with a team gaining three points for a win, two points for a win after overtime, and one point for a loss after overtime. The top ranked teams of each group advance to the quarterfinals, together with the best-ranked second place. The remaining teams play in a playoff, with the winners also advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and final are based on a single head-to-head match. The winner of the final wins the event.
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Ten teams qualified for the event with a fierce battle to be expected between the two traditional powerhouses Canada and the United States. The two nations had divided all Olympic titles so far, as well as the last 20 editions of the world championships. Sweden was the only other nation to have reached an Olympic title in the event, but Finland took bronze in 2018. Switzerland and ROC were also featured in group A due to their position in the world rankings and seemed to be other outsiders for the medals.
Alina Marti was the youngest competitor in the field, as she was exactly one month younger than Daria Gredzen, both yet to turn 18 years old. Veronika Korzhakova, Sofia Skriver, Laura Zimmermann, and Ida Boman followed at around a year's difference. Hanae Kubo was the oldest competitor in the field at the age of 39, and was over four years older than Jenni Hiirikoski, though the latter was one of seven players to start their fourth edition of the Olympic Games. Only Nicole Bullo was the sole leader of experience: the Swiss player was due to make her fifth Olympic appearance in Beijing.
Canada reclaimed the Olympic title after they were defeated by the United States in the final of the tournament in 2018, and won their fifth Olympic title in the event in seven editions. The United States won the silver medal once again and continued the streak of podium finishes in the women's ice hockey competition at the Olympic Games. Finland won its second consecutive bronze medal in the event and won their third Olympic medal in the last four editions, defeating 2014 bronze medalists Switzerland in the small final. ROC, Japan, Czech Republic, and Sweden finished in the top 8 after losing their quarterfinals, with China and Denmark completing the ranking.
Canada
Switzerland
Finland
United States
Czech Republic
China
Sweden
Japan
ROC
Denmark
