This volume contains the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Rewriting Techniques and Applications (RTA2005), whichwasheldonApril19 21, 2005, at the Nara-Ken New Public Hall in the center of the Nara National Park in Nara, Japan. RTA is the major forum for the presentation of research on all aspects of rewriting.PreviousRTAconferenceswereheldinDijon(1985), Bordeaux(1987), Chapel Hill (1989), Como (1991), Montreal (1993), Kaiserslautern (1995), Rutgers (1996), Sitges (1997), Tsukuba (1998), Trento (1999), Norwich (2000), Utrecht (2001), Copenhagen (2002), Valencia (2003), and...