The first stage of the 2013 Copa Libertadores de América was played from January 22 to January 31, 2013. A total of 12 teams competed in the first stage.[1]
The draw of the tournament was held on December 21, 2012, 11:00 UTC−3, at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[2]
For the first stage, the 12 teams were drawn into six ties containing a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, with the former hosting the second leg in three ties, and the latter hosting the second leg in the other three ties. The seeding of each team was determined by which associations reached the furthest stage in the previous Copa Libertadores.[1]
The following were the seeding of the 12 teams entered into the first stage draw:
| width=190 | Pot 1 | width=190 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tigre Grêmio São PauloIquique  Deportes TolimaOlimpia |  Bolívar LDU Quito León Universidad César VallejoDefensor Sporting  Deportivo Anzoátegui |
In the first stage, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule was used. If still tied, the penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (no extra time was played). The winners of each tie advanced to the second stage to join the 26 automatic qualifiers.[1]
The first legs were played on January 22–24, and the second legs were played on January 29–31, 2013.[3]
|}
----Tigre won 5–1 on aggregate.
----Tied 1–1 on aggregate, Grêmio won on penalties.
----Deportes Tolima won 2–1 on aggregate.
----Olimpia won 2–0 on aggregate.
----São Paulo won 8–4 on aggregate.
----Tied 2–2 on aggregate, Iquique won on penalties.