HNL) was the 20th season of Croatia's second level football competition since its establishment in 1992.
RNK Split were league champions and were promoted to Prva HNL at the end of the previous season.
Despite planned reduction in the number of clubs in Prva HNL for the 2011–12 season (in which the top flight was set to be reduced from 16 to 12 clubs), CFF Assembly on 17 December 2010 delayed the execution of this changes by one year.
In that scenario five clubs would have been relegated from top level to Druga HNL and Druga HNL winners promoted to top level, with five teams relegated from Druga HNL to third level.
As for promotion from third level, winners of all three divisions of Treća HNL (West, East and South) will be promoted to Druga HNL, while the fourth club will be decided from a qualifying round between second-placed teams from East and West division.