It is based on a formula giving points for each team's placings at IIHF-sanctioned tournaments over the previous four years.
The two winners of the first preliminaries and teams ranked 27–36th were divided in three groups to play in the second pre-qualification round in December 2019.
The three winners of those preliminaries joined teams ranked 18–26th for the third pre-qualification round of three groups in February 2020.
Teams ranked 16th and below were divided into three groups where they played in a preliminary qualification round in the October 2021.
Points are assigned according to a team's final placement in the World Championship or the Olympic tournament.
This is used as a bonus for the teams who reach the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the final and for winning the gold medal.
For a fairer ranking and point distribution, the IIHF Council decided that the points for 2021 in case of tournament cancellations are given according to the ranking position of each team in the 2021 Pre-Championship Report – taking into consideration the results in 2018, 2019 and 2020 – rather than by seeding as in the past.
[5] For the 2022 Winter Olympics, Russia was still under a 2019 ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because of that country's state-sponsored doping scheme.
[8] The following table lists the full breakdown of ranking following the 2024 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships.
The Women's 2025 ranking is based on the performance at the World Championships of 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022, and at the Olympic Ice Hockey tournament of 2022.
The Championship division received points based on the previous year's ranking, while Divisions IA, IB, and IIA received points based on the previous year's results.
For the 2022 Winter Olympics, Russia was still under a 2019 ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because of that country's state-sponsored doping scheme.