Dott missed the first ranking event of the 2011–12 season, the Australian Goldfields Open due a neck injury, but he took part in the remaining seven ranking tournaments. He was knocked out in the first round in the Shanghai Masters and Welsh Open and didn't get past the last 16 of the 2011 UK Championship, German Masters or the China Open. Dott's best run of the season came at the World Open, where he beat Barry Hawkins and Marcus Campbell, before losing 1–5 to Stephen Lee in the quarter-finals. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Masters, where he was defeated by John Higgins 3–6.