The Boundaries of this district are Srikakulum district in the East, Vijayanagaram district in the South, Orissa state and Vishakapatnam district in the West and Orissa state in the North directions. This district was formed in the year 1979. In the olden days this place used to be in Kalinga kingdom ruled by Sathavahanas, Golkonda Nawabs and British Empire.

Quality Timber is obtained from this Forest. Tribal Cooperatives are extracting Honey and other Commodities from these woods and are distributed to other centers in Andhra Pradesh social forestry drive is working briskly in this area. Manganese, some Clays are found in the district. Small amounts of Mica are also found in some parts of the district. 50% of the Jute produced in Andhra Pradesh Comes from this district. Four out of Eight Jute Industry units were in this district. Bobbili is another place which is famous for its Musical Instrument 'Veena', which is of the highest degree of precision acknowledged worldwide. All Colleges are affiliated to Andhra University - Waltair