The 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs was the sixteenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season.

The tournament began on October 26 with the play-in round and concluded on November 20 with the championship match.

The defending MLS Cup champions were the Colorado Rapids, who beat FC Dallas 2–1 in the 2010 championship.

The wild-card entrants, seeded seventh through tenth, will enter based upon their overall position in a single table of the league standings.

The new format is assembled so that the weakest seed to qualify out of the wild-card rounds will have to play the Supporters' Shield winner.

The winners of each play-in proper will earn a berth into the conference semifinals, or the quarterfinals, of the playoffs.

In this round, the lowest seeded wildcard team to advance will play against the MLS Supporters' Shield winner (regular season champion).

From among the remaining clubs, the top 4 qualify as wild cards, entering the play-in round to narrow the field to 8.