The 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats season was the 8th season of the Charlotte Bobcats in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 22nd overall season of NBA basketball in Charlotte. Considered to be the worst NBA team of all time, the Bobcats failed to improve on their 34–48 record from the previous season and set the record for the worst winning percentage in a season with a .106 winning percentage, "surpassing" the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers (.110) for the lowest winning percentage in NBA history. They were eliminated from playoff contention on March 28, 2012, after an 88–83 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a record of 7–41. On March 17, 2012, the Bobcats managed to eke out their final win of the season against the Toronto Raptors, narrowly avoiding tying the 1947–48 Providence Steamrollers for the record of the lowest number of wins in NBA history. April proved to be particularly unforgiving, with the team failing to secure a single victory, embarking on a harrowing 23-game losing streak that lasted until the start of the following season, further cementing their reputation as one of the most struggling franchises in NBA history. The Bobcats eventually clinched the worst record in NBA history, in a shortened season or otherwise, by losing 104–84 to the New York Knicks in their final regular season game on April 26, 2012.

Guard-forward Gerald Henderson led the team in scoring, with an average of 15.1 points per game. Forward-center Bismack Biyombo led in rebounds per game (5.8), and point guard D. J. Augustin recorded a team-high 6.4 assists per game. During the last minutes of their final regular season game, owner Michael Jordan (who was not in the stands) was shown on the jumbotron and was greeted with a swarm of boos from the home crowd.

Due to the 2011 NBA lockout negotiations, the programmed pre-season schedule, along with the first two weeks of the regular season were scrapped, and a two-game pre-season was set for each team once the lockout concluded.