Wang Hao won the title in 2009 and was therefore the defending champion. He reached the final where he met fellow Chinese player Zhang Jike.
Zhang won against Hao 12–10, 11–7, 6–11, 9–11, 11–5, 14–12. This was the first time Zhang appeared in the Men's Singles event at the World Championships and thus his first medal in this category.
Seeds
Based on the ITTF world ranking issued before the Championships, top 64 seeds directly enter first Rounds of 128-player sized draw.
References
2011 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Singles Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA