First install the ifupdown2 package:

sudo apt install ifupdown2

It will generate the file /etc/network/interfaces if it doesn't exist.

Then edit /etc/network/interfaces and add the following:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
        address 172.16.1.20/24
        gateway 172.16.1.1 
        nameserver 172.16.1.1

Adjust the interface name, here eth0, to your configuration.

Finally enable the interface by running:

ifup eth0

Sourced from wiki.debian.org/NetworkConfiguration