The 16th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 May 1963. The Palme d'Or went to the Il Gattopardo by Luchino Visconti. The festival opened with The Birds, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. In 1964, the Palme d'Or was replaced again by the Grand Prix, before being reintroduced in 1975.