It was the 31st official World Cup season in cross-country skiing for men and women.

The season began in Sjusjøen, Norway, on 19 November 2011 and concluded on 18 March 2012 in Falun, Sweden.

[1] This season's biggest event was the Tour de Ski, as there were no World Championships or Olympic Games.

The table shows the number of points won in the 2011–12 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup for men and women.

All distance races, included individual stages in Tour de Ski and in World Cup Final (which counts as 50% of a normal race), count towards the distance standings.