Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 13 December 2016, 14:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the Hilton Petaling Jaya in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. [3] [4] [5] The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone could not be drawn into the same group. [6]
Due to the withdrawal of teams in the ASEAN Zone and the East Asia Zone after the draw, only 34 teams competed in the group stage, with Groups H and I having only three teams.
The seeding of each team in the draw was determined by their association and their qualifying position within their association. The mechanism of the draw was as follows: [6]
- For the West Asia Zone, a draw was held for the five associations with two direct entrants (Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon) to determine the three associations occupying seeds 1 and 2, with seeds 1 placed in order for Groups A, B and C, and the two associations occupying seeds 3 and 4, with seeds 3 placed in order for Groups A and B. The remaining teams were then allocated to groups according to the rules set by AFC.
- For the ASEAN Zone, a draw was held for the four associations with two direct entrants (Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines) to determine the three associations occupying seeds 1 and 2, with seeds 1 placed in order for Groups F, G and H, and the one association occupying seeds 3 and 4, with seed 3 placed in Group F. The remaining teams were then allocated to the groups according to the rules set by AFC.
- For the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, no draw was held, and the teams were allocated to the groups according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016.
The following 34 teams entered into the group stage draw, which included the 29 direct entrants and the five winners of the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs, whose identity were not known at the time of the draw. [3] [6] Originally there were 30 direct entrants and six winners of the play-off round, but there were one fewer direct entrant in the ASEAN Zone due to the withdrawal of one team, and the East Asia Zone qualifying play-offs were not played due to the withdrawal of three teams.
| Zone | Groups | Seed 1 | Seed 2 | Seed 3 | Seed 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Asia Zone | A–C |  Al-Zawraa [note 1] | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya [note 1] |  Al-Jaish [note 1] | Al-Wahda [note 1] |
 Al-Hidd [note 1] | Al-Muharraq [note 1] |  Safa [note 1] | Nejmeh [note 1] | ||
 Al-Wehdat [note 1] | Al-Ahli [note 1] |  Saham | Al-Suwaiq (Play-off West Asia) | ||
| Central Asia Zone | D |  Istiklol |  Altyn Asyr |  Alay Osh | Dordoi (Play-off Central Asia) |
| South Asia Zone | E |  Bengaluru FC |  Maziya |  Abahani Limited Dhaka | Mohun Bagan (Play-off South Asia) |
| ASEAN Zone | F–H |  Johor Darul Ta'zim [note 2] | FELDA United [note 2] |  Global Cebu [note 2] | Ceres–Negros [note 2] |
 Hà Nội [note 2] | Than Quảng Ninh [note 2] |  Tampines Rovers | Home United (Play-off ASEAN 1) | ||
 Yadanarbon [note 2] | Magwe [note 2] |  Lanexang United |  Boeung Ket Angkor (Play-off ASEAN 2) | ||
| East Asia Zone | I |  April 25 |  Rovers |  Taipower Kigwancha [note 4] |  Erchim [note 4] |
- Standby teams [note 5]
Al-Jazeera (for Al-Wehdat)
East Bengal (for Bengaluru FC)
SHB Đà Nẵng (for Hà Nội)
Kedah (for Johor Darul Ta'zim)
Yangon United (for Yadanarbon)
Loyola Meralco Sparks (for Global Cebu)
Geylang International (for Tampines Rovers)
