| Mode: | Women's Basketball |
| Year: | 1996–97 |
| Prev Year: | 1995–96 |
| Next Year: | 1997–98 |
| Team: | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 18–12 |
| Conf Record: | 9–7 |
| Hc Year: | 2nd |
| Champion: | Big Ten Tournament champions |
| Tourney Result: | Second round |
The 1996–97 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as members of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by second-year head coach Angie Lee, played their home games in Iowa City, Iowa at Carver–Hawkeye Arena. They finished the season 18–12 overall, 9–7 in Big Ten play, to finish tied for fourth in the conference regular season standings. The team won the Big Ten tournament for the first time in program history and advanced to the women's NCAA basketball tournament.
|-!colspan=9 style=| Regular season
|-!colspan=9 style=| Big Ten tournament|-!colspan=9 style=| NCAA tournament[2] [3]
See main article: 1996–97 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings.