Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria qualified for Germany 2011 after reaching the final of the CAF African Women's Championships which were held in South Africa between 29 October and 14 November.

The first qualification round took place from 25 April to 3 May 2009 in Kuala Lumpur with Jordan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan proceeding to a second round which took place 4 to 14 July 2009. The three teams were joined by Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, Thailand, Iran, Vietnam and Hong Kong in three groups and the group winners (Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam) advanced to the final round, which ran from 19 to 30 May 2010. The final round also featured Korea DPR, China PR, Japan, Australia and Korea Republic. Australia became the first team in the world to qualify, aside from the host nation, with a 1-0 win against Japan in the semi-final. Korea DPR joined them with a 1-0 win against China PR in the other semi-final. Japan claimed the third and final position by defeating China PR in the third-place play-off. Australia were crowned Asian champions by defeating Korea DPR 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the final.

41 teams competed in eight groups from 19-20 September 2009 through to 25 August 2010. The eight group winners progressed to the play-offs on 11-12 and 15-16 September 2010, producing four qualifiers for the finals - namely France, Norway, England and Sweden. Italy qualified via further play-offs to meet the USA from the CONCACAF zone in a play-off for one more berth in Germany, but were beaten 2-0 on aggregate.

The CONCACAF qualifying event took place between 28 October and 8 November in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Canada pulled off quite a shock by finishing in first place, qualifying directly for the finals along with runners-up Mexico.

The USA overcame a shock loss to the hosts in the semi-final round to beat Costa Rica in the third-place match, and sealed the final place at Germany 2011 by beating Italy 2-0 on aggregate in the CONCACAF/UEFA play-off held on 20 and 27 November.

The OFC Women's Nations Cup 2010 took place in Auckland, New Zealand, between 29 September and 8 October. Eight teams participated: New Zealand, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tonga. The hosts claimed the only available slot at Germany 2011, beating Papua New Guinea 11-0 in the final.

The South American Women's Championship took place between 4 and 21 November in Ecuador, with Brazil winning the tournament and qualifying alongside surprise runners-up Colombia.