| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | GD | W | D | L | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa | 46 | 70 | +53 | 32 | 6 | 8 | 85 | 32 |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 65 | +35 | 27 | 11 | 8 | 82 | 47 |
| 3 | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | 62 | +36 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 73 | 37 |
| 4 | Notts. County | 46 | 62 | +30 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 74 | 44 |
| 5 | Rotherham United | 46 | 55 | +17 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 69 | 52 |
| 6 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 54 | +19 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 75 | 56 |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 50 | +10 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 51 | 41 |
| 8 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 50 | +10 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 74 | 64 |
| 9 | Walsall | 46 | 48 | +5 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 62 | 57 |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 47 | -3 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 54 | 57 |
| 11 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 45 | -4 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 59 | 63 |
| 12 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 44 | +8 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 73 | 65 |
| 13 | 46 | 44 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 57 | 57 | |
| 14 | Swansea City | 46 | 44 | -13 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 46 | 59 |
| 15 | Port Vale | 46 | 41 | -16 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 43 | 59 |
| 16 | 46 | 40 | -4 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 59 | 63 | |
| 17 | Halifax Town | 46 | 38 | -13 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 48 | 61 |
| 18 | Rochdale | 46 | 37 | -26 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 57 | 83 |
| 19 | 46 | 36 | -9 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 57 | 66 | |
| 20 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 36 | -21 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 50 | 71 |
| 21 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 36 | -22 | 8 | 20 | 18 | 41 | 63 |
| 22 | Barnsley | 46 | 36 | -32 | 9 | 18 | 19 | 32 | 64 |
| 23 | 46 | 32 | -28 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 41 | 69 | |
| 24 | Bradford City | 46 | 32 | -32 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 45 | 77 |
Content retrieved from: http://stats.football.co.uk/league_tables/1971_1972/league_one/index.shtml.
