| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | GD | W | D | L | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea Town | 42 | 62 | +53 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 87 | 34 |
| 2 | Reading | 42 | 55 | +27 | 25 | 5 | 12 | 77 | 50 |
| 3 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Ath. | 42 | 52 | +21 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 69 | 48 |
| 4 | Swindon Town | 42 | 51 | +8 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 64 | 56 |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 48 | +10 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 61 | 51 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 48 | 0 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 55 | 55 |
| 7 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 45 | +1 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 78 | 77 |
| 8 | Millwall | 42 | 45 | -1 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 63 | 64 |
| 9 | 42 | 45 | -5 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 65 | 70 | |
| 10 | Norwich City | 42 | 44 | +18 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 67 | 49 |
| 11 | Notts. County | 42 | 43 | +34 | 19 | 5 | 18 | 102 | 68 |
| 12 | Exeter City | 42 | 41 | -12 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 64 | 76 |
| 13 | Port Vale | 42 | 39 | -3 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 51 | 54 |
| 14 | Walsall | 42 | 38 | -8 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 56 | 64 |
| 15 | Newport County | 42 | 37 | -24 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 68 | 92 |
| 16 | Bristol City | 42 | 36 | -18 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 44 | 62 |
| 17 | Watford | 42 | 35 | -13 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 41 | 54 |
| 18 | Leyton Orient | 42 | 34 | -22 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 58 | 80 |
| 19 | Southend United | 42 | 33 | -6 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 41 | 47 |
| 20 | Northampton Town | 42 | 33 | -11 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 51 | 62 |
| 21 | Aldershot | 42 | 33 | -11 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 48 | 59 |
| 22 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 27 | -38 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 38 | 76 |
Content retrieved from: http://stats.football.co.uk/league_tables/1948_1949/third_division_south/index.shtml.
