Miss Universe 2001

•  Bahamas - Miss Congeniality (Nakera Simms)
•  Puerto Rico - Miss Photogenic (Denise Quiñones)
•  Korea - Best National Costume (Kim Sa-rang)

Last competed in 1979:

•  Antigua and Barbuda

Last competed in 1999:

•  Curaçao
•  Nicaragua
•  Northern Mariana Islands
•  Turkey
•  US Virgin Islands

• The Parade of Nations followed the 1989 pageant in continental format and the delegates wore their national costumes.
• Poland was supposed to be represented by the 1st runner-up of Miss Polonia, Malgorzata Rozniecka. Studies prevented her from going, and the organization picked another finalist, Monika Gruda. Later in September, Malgorzata Rozniecka won the Miss International pageant in Japan.
• France, Élodie Gossuin who would later win Miss Europe, faced controversy when it was rumoured that she was a transsexual,until a medical examination confirmed that she was a natural-born woman.[6][7][8]
• The organization invited Miss Russia 2001, Oxana Fedorova, to attend the pageant, but she was unable to compete due to studies and vowed to participate in 2002. Her 1st runner-up, Oxana Kalandyrets, competed instead and became a top 10 finalist. Fedorova would go on to win the following year's Miss Universe pageant, only to be dethroned and replaced with her runner-up four months later.[9] Kalandyrets sported the same evening gown that the Russian representative at Miss Universe 1997, Anna Baytchik, wore during Miss Universe 1997 preliminaries.
• Miss Spain 2001, Lorena van Heerde Ayala, could not compete in the pageant because she was underage (17 at the time). Her 1st runner-up, Eva Sisó, replaced her. Lorena was supposed then to compete in Miss Universe 2002 as well, but after a threat of lawsuit against the Miss España Organization by her family side due to the breach of contract by the organization,[10] she cut all ties with the Miss España organization and lost the right to represent Spain in any international pageant.[11]
• Juliana Borges of Brazil was heavily criticized after openly admitting to the media that she had undergone nineteen plastic surgeries, stating "It's like studying for a math exam and you get good grades... you study and you work hard to have the perfect body". Despite a public outcry she was still allowed to compete.[12]
• Miss Vietnam 2000 Phan Thu Ngân was invited to participate the competition but she declined and married afterwards.