Kilkenny won the championship, beating Cork 3-24 to 5-11 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was run on a provincial basis as usual.
It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there were no seeds.
If that match ended in a draw a period of extra time was played, however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time another replay had to take place.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.