It is located along the Jošavka and Vrbanja rivers, between the municipalities of Laktaši and Prnjavor to the north, Teslić to the east, Kotor Varoš and Kneževo (formerly known as Skender Vakuf) to the south, and Banja Luka to the west.

The main initiator and leader of the persecution of the non-Serb population in the valley of the Vrbanja river and Bosanska Krajina, including Čelinac, was a member of the SDS — Radoslav Brđanin, a native of the nearby village of Popovac.

[1] During the War in Bosnia, along with other generally known reprisals, the local authorities had introduced restrictions for Bosniaks and Croats, i.e. the non-Serb population.

At the hearing in 2013, a witness, in response to Nikola Poplašen, stated: "Since he stated that there was no ethnic discrimination in the Republika Srpska, the prosecutor presented the decision of the Čelinac municipality authorities from July 23, 1992, in which Croats and Muslims are prohibited from going out into the street from 4 p.m. till 6 a.m., bathing in the river, fishing, gathering in larger groups, and the only thing they are expressly allowed to do is - leave.

[2]Aside from the town of Čelinac, the municipality includes the following settlements: The following table gives a preview of the total number of registered employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):[3] Una-Sana  Central Bosnia Posavina  Herzegovina-Neretva Tuzla  West Herzegovina Zenica-Doboj  Sarajevo Bosnian Podrinje Canton 10