Qualification
Each of the continental champions from five confederations and the host nation received an automatic berth. The European confederation received one extra quota based upon the FIH World Rankings. As the host was also the continental champion, New Zealand qualified as runner-up and Spain and China qualified as 4th and 5th team in final ranking at the 2000 Summer Olympics, completing the final line-up alongside the six nations from the Qualifier.
After the United States could not attend the Qualifying Tournament due to the disruption of airline schedules after the September 11 attacks, the FIH organized a series of test-matches between that team and India (Seventh placed team in Qualifying Tournament) to ensure they had a chance to participate at the World Cup. The winner of the test-match series would qualify.
| Dates | Event | Location | Qualifier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | Australia | ||
| 7–11 November 1998 | 1998 Hockey African Cup for Nations | Harare, Zimbabwe | South Africa |
| 18–29 August 1999 | 1999 EuroHockey Nations Championship | Cologne, Germany | Netherlands Germany |
| 2–10 December 1999 | 1999 Hockey Asia Cup | New Delhi, India | Korea |
| 8–18 March 2001 | 2001 Pan American Cup | Kingston, Jamaica | Argentina |
| 26–29 July 2001 | 2001 Oceania Cup | Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton, New Zealand | —1 New Zealand |
| 17–30 September 2001 | Qualifier | Amiens, Abbeville, France | England Russia Ukraine Japan Ireland Scotland |
| 22–25 June 2002 | Play-off Competition | Cannock, England | United States |
| 16–29 September 2000 | 2000 Summer Olympics | Sydney, Australia | Spain China |
- ^1 – Australia qualified both as host and continental champion, therefore New Zealand qualified as continental runner-up.
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