Ding had a career-best run at the 2011 World Snooker Championship. He beat Jamie Burnett 10–2 in the first round, advancing to the last 16 of the World Championship for the fourth consecutive year. He played Stuart Bingham in the second round; he was losing 9–12 with his opponent needing one frame for victory but Ding made a comeback, winning four consecutive frames to win 13–12 and reach the quarter-finals of the world championship for the first time in his career. In his quarter-final with Mark Selby, Ding led 10–6 after the first two sessions of the match. Selby built strong momentum by winning the first four frames of the last session to level at 10–10. Ding won the match 13–10 to set up a semi-final against Judd Trump. In their semi-final, Ding and Trump were level at 12–12 after the third session. In the last session, Trump built momentum and led 14–12 but Ding won the next three frames with a 138 break to tie Mark King for highest tournament break and a 119 break. Ding lost the next three frames and lost the match 15–17. He ended the season with career-high ranking of world number four.