The qualifying round was held from August 13 to September 13, 2008.
The top 2 teams in each group and the best team in 3rd place qualified to EuroBasket Women 2009.
The best 6 of the remaining teams will go to the additional qualifying round, from which 2 additional teams will qualify to EuroBasket Women 2009.
The last 4 teams will play in the relegation round, from which 2 teams will relegate to Division B in 2010–2011.
The additional qualifying round and the relegation round will be held from January 4 to January 19, 2009.
Qualifying round
The draw for the qualifying round was held on February 16, 2008. The remaining 19 teams in Division A were divided into 3 groups of 5 teams and one group of 4 teams.