At the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships, the race began slow and tactical, and Hill settled into the second position. As the pace quickened, he eventually fell back, and was in 5th place with one lap remaining. Passing one runner on the backstretch, Hill found another gear, and passed two others in the last 100 meters to take 2nd place and the silver medal in a time of 7:57.39, finishing just barely behind 19-year-old Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia (7:57.21). Ryan Hill improved his PR to 7:30.93 at the Diamond League meeting in Paris on Saturday, August 27, 2016, finishing 4th. Only three Americans in history have run faster: Bernard Lagat, Galen Rupp (indoors), and Bob Kennedy. Hill finished in first place at USATF 5 km Championships hosted by CVS Health Downtown 5k in Providence, Rhode Island in a time of 13:57.