| Event: | Men's water polo tournament |
| Games: | 2011 |
| Venue: | Scotiabank Aquatics Center |
| Dates: | October 23 – October 29 |
| Competitors: | 104 |
| Nations: | 8 |
| Prev: | 2007 |
| Next: | 2015 |
The men's tournament of water polo at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico took place from October 23 to October 29, when the United States defeated Canada 7–3 for the gold medal. All games were held at the Scotiabank Aquatics Center. The defending champions are the United States.[1] The winner of the competition has qualified directly for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain, while the second through fourth-place finishing teams have qualified for the 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament that was held in Edmonton, Canada.[1]
A National Olympic Committee may enter one men's team for the water polo competition. Mexico, the host nation along with seven other countries qualified through regional competitions.[1]
| Event | Date | Location | Vacancies | Qualified | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host Nation | – | – | 1 | ||
| 2010 South American Games | March 20–25, 2010 |  Medellín | 3 | | |
| July 26–31, 2010 | Mayagüez | 1 | |||
| – | – | 1 | |||
| Zone 3 | – | – | 1 | ||
| Zone 4 | – | – | 1 | ||
| TOTAL | 8 | ||||
At the Central American and Caribbean Games, Venezuela competed, and finished higher than Trinidad and Tobago, but this qualifying round is open to nations from CCCAN only.[1]
Puerto Rico withdrew and were replaced by Cuba.[2]
All times are local Central Daylight Time (UTC−5)[3]
| width=10px bgcolor="#ccffcc" | Qualified for the semifinals |
--------------------
--------------------
----
----
| width=40 | Rank | width=180 | Team | width=60 | Record | Olympic Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 – 0 – 0 | Qualifies directly for 2012 Olympic Games | |||||
| 4 – 0 – 1 | 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament | |||||
| 3 – 0 – 2 | 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament | |||||
| 4 | 2 – 0 – 3 | Declined invitation to 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament | ||||
| 5 | 3 – 0 – 2 | 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament | ||||
| 6 | 2 – 0 – 3 | Declined invitation to 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament | ||||
| 7 | 1 – 0 – 4 | Declined invitation to 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament | ||||
| 8 | 0 – 0 – 5 | 2012 Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament |