| Competition: | Campeonato Paulista - Série A1 |
| Season: | 1996 |
| Winners: | Palmeiras |
| Relegated: | Ferroviária Novorizontino XV de Jaú |
| League Topscorer: | Giovanni (Santos) - 24 goals |
| Biggest Home Win: | Palmeiras 6–0 América (March 21, 1996) Mogi Mirim 6–0 XV de Jaú (May 1, 1996) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Botafogo 0–8 Palmeiras (March 16, 1996) |
| Highest Scoring: | União São João 2–8 Santos (April 6, 1996) |
| Matches: | 240 |
| Total Goals: | 734 |
| Prevseason: | 1995 |
| Nextseason: | 1997 |
The 1996 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 was the 95th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Palmeiras won the championship for the 21st time. Ferroviária, Novorizontino and XV de Jaú were relegated at the end of the season.[1]
The championship was disputed in a double round-robin format, with the winners of the first and second rounds of the championship qualifying to the finals; In case that the same team won both rounds, it would automatically win the title.[2]
| 1 | Giovanni | Santos | 24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Luizao | Palmeiras | 22 | |
| 3 | Marcelinho | Corinthians | 19 | |
| 4 | Rivaldo | Palmeiras | 18 | |
| 5 | Valdir | São Paulo | 17 | |
| 6 | Muller | Palmeiras | 15 | |
| Djalminha | ||||
| Tiba | Portuguesa | |||
| 9 | Edmundo | Corinthians | 13 | |
| 10 | Adriano Gerlin | América | 12 |