| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Uruguay |
| Dates | 21 January – 15 February |
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Uruguay (9th title) |
| Runners-up |  Chile |
| Third place |  Argentina |
| Fourth place |  Brazil |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 38 (2.53 per match) |
| Attendance | 568,000 (37,867 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Enrique Hormazábal (4 goals) |
← 1955 1957 → | |
South American Championship 1956 was a football tournament held in Uruguay, who won it. Chile were runners-up. Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador withdrew from the tournament. Enrique Hormazábal from Chile became top scorer of the tournament with 4 goals.