The 1949 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Geneva, Switzerland under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. It was the inaugural edition.
Eight sets of medals were awarded. There were four individual events and four team events. The team events were just combined times of three selected athletes or crews from the individual events. Only two teams were classified in the men's C1 team, men's C2 team and women's folding K1 team events.