The 2011/12 World Cup season was a breakout year for Xu Mengtao. While she had shown steady improvement over the preceding years, moving up in overall rankings from 4th in 2009, to 3rd in 2010, to 2nd in 2011, in 2012 the young lady from China dominated the women's aerial competitions, winning five in a row leading up to the Beida Lake event in her native country.

At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Mengtao appeared to be on her way to capturing gold before falling on a jump and being forced to settle for 6th.

At the 2011 World Championships in Deer Valley, Utah, Mengtao claimed the silver medal behind countrywoman Shuang Cheng.