The World Cup season lasts from November or December to late March, with meetings in a different venue every week excluding some holidays and a couple of weeks before the season's major championships (World Championships or Winter Olympics).

A Small Crystal Globe trophy is awarded for the first place in the season total for each discipline.

[6][7] Note: Frank Luck, Sergei Tchepikov, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, and Arnd Peiffer, are the only biathletes to win World Cup races in three decades.

Note: Andrea Henkel is the only biathlete to win World Cup races in three decades.

List of top 10 most started all male and female biathletes in individual World Cup or Olympic races.