At the 2011 Wuxi Classic, Ding lost to Mark Selby 5–6 in the semi-finals, failing to reach the tournament's final for the first time. At the World Cup, Ding and Liang Wenbo partnered to represent China. They won the final 4–2 against Northern Ireland. Ding lost 2–5 against Stuart Bingham in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open. At the second event of the Players Tour Championship, Ding reached the final but lost 0–4 against Judd Trump. Ding was knocked out by Neil Robertson 6–2 in the quarter-finals of the 2011 UK Championship. Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Ding in the Masters for the third time in his career, losing in the first round 4–6.