The 1901 County Championship marked the 12th official season of the competition. Fifteen teams took part in the first-class tournament, which ran from 6 May until 4 September. Every match followed the traditional three-day format. A league system determined the final standings, where teams earned points for wins and lost points for defeats.
Yorkshire secured the title for the fifth time in the club's history. This success marked their second consecutive championship win, leaving Middlesex trailing in a distant second place. Across the entire summer, the teams contested 164 matches to decide the destination of the trophy.
Individual performances stood out throughout the season. Lancashire batter Johnny Tyldesley topped the run charts, accumulating 2,605 runs during his campaign. Meanwhile, Wilfred Rhodes dominated the bowling statistics, claiming 196 wickets for the champion Yorkshire side.
The competition used a specific mathematical approach to crown the winner. Officials calculated final rankings by taking the total points earned, dividing that figure by the number of completed matches ending in a win or loss, and multiplying the result by 100.
| Team | Pld | W | L | D | A | Pts | Fin | %Fin |
| Yorkshire | 28 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 19 | 21 | 90.48 |
| Middlesex | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 50.00 |
| Lancashire | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 37.50 |
| Sussex | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 33.33 |
| Warwickshire | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 27.27 |
| Surrey | 28 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 7.69 |
| Hampshire | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Kent | 22 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0.00 |
| Nottinghamshire | 20 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | -1 | 11 | -9.09 |
| Essex | 22 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 1 | –1 | 9 | –11.11 |
| Worcestershire | 22 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 1 | –3 | 17 | –17.65 |
| Leicestershire | 20 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 1 | –6 | 14 | –42.86 |
| Somerset | 18 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 1 | –6 | 14 | –42.86 |
| Gloucestershire | 24 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 0 | –7 | 13 | –53.85 |
| Derbyshire | 20 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | –13 | 13 | –100.00 |
| Source: CricketArchive |
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