Brynäs IF remained in the highest league and Rögle BK were promoted to Elitserien at the expense of Mora IK.
Södertälje SK finished first in Kvalserien for the second consecutive year, and AIK returned to Elitserien after eight seasons in lesser divisions.
Växjö Lakers, HockeyAllsvenskan's regular-season winners, finished with 26 points and qualified for Elitserien for the first time in club history, at the expense of Södertälje SK.
Rögle became the first HockeyAllsvenskan team in history to qualify for Elitserien by winning the playoff round to get into the Kvalserien.
Instead, HockeyAllsvenskan teams Örebro HK (who qualified through a Playoff round-robin tournament) and regular-season winner Leksands IF took the two available spots for the 2013–14 SHL season.
The 40th and final Kvalserien ended with Örebro HK defending their SHL spot and Djurgårdens IF returning to the top-tier league after a two-year stint in HockeyAllsvenskan.