Kathua district is located in the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, in the disputed territory of Kashmir. It is bordered by Jammu to the northwest, the Doda and Udhampur districts to the north, the state of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Punjab to the south, and Pakistan’s working boundary to the west. Its geography is diversified, with fertile agricultural areas along the Punjab/Kashmir border, plains stretching eastward to the Himalayan foothills, and the hilly Pahari region in the east.

Kathua district is divided into eight blocks, namely Bani, Barnoti, Basholi, Billawar, Duggan, Ghagwal, Hiranagar, Kathua, and Lohai Malhar. It contains roughly 512 settlements.

The educational languages are English, Hindi, and Urdu.