The 16 participating teams are split into four single round-robin pools (A, B, C and D) of four teams each for the first stage of the championship.
2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship
The top two teams from each of the four pools advance to single round-robin Pools E and F, while the rest move to single round-robin Pools G and H.
The top two teams from each of the Pools E and F advance to the semifinals, whose winners progress to the gold medal match and losers to the bronze medal match.
The teams placed third and fourth in Pools E and F move on to the playoff 5-8 matches, whose winners progress to the classification match for fifth place and losers move on to the classification match for seventh place.
The top two teams from each of the Pools G and H advance to the playoff 9-12 matches, whose winners progress to the classification match for ninth place and losers to the classification match for 11th place.
The teams placed third and fourth in Pools G and H move on to the playoff 13-16 matches, whose winners progress to the classification match for 13th place and losers move on to the classification match for 15th place.
