Williams, 31, confirmed her return to top spot by reaching the semi-finals of the Qatar Open, where she eventually lost in the final to Victoria Azarenka, who she replaces at number one.
Williams, a 15-time Grand Slam winner, last held the top ranking in October 2010 before a serious foot injury.
British men's number one Andy Murray remains the world number three .
Britain's top female player Heather Watson stays at number 41 while Laura Robson rises two places to 43, equalling her highest ranking to date.
Williams replaces fellow American Chris Evert as the oldest woman to be number one - Evert held the top ranking in 1985 just before turning 31.
Williams missed almost a year on the tour after winning Wimbledon in 2010, when she cut her feet on broken glass and required two operations on her right foot, before suffering blood clots in her lungs.
She slipped as low as 175th in the rankings but in 2012, her first full season back on the tour, she won Wimbledon, Olympic singles gold, the US Open and the WTA Championships.
She needed to reach the final four in Doha to overtake Azarenka at the top of the rankings.
Oldest players to hold WTA world number one ranking
1. Serena Williams (US) 31 years, 4 months, 24 days
2. Chris Evert (US) 30 years, 11 months, 3 days (Nov 1985)3. Martina Navratilova (US) 30 years, 9 months, 29 days (Aug 1987)
4. Lindsay Davenport (US) 29 years, 7 months, 8 days (Jan 2006)
5. Serena Williams 29 years, 0 months, 14 days (Oct 2010)
6. Steffi Graf (Germany) 27 years, 9 months, 16 days (Mar 1997)
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