Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Ang Thong, Lopburi, Saraburi, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Suphan Buri.

The name Ayutthaya derives from the Sanskrit word Ayodhyā, found in the Ramayana, which means "the invincible [city]".

Grammatically, this word is composed of the morphemes a- 'not' + yodhya 'defeatable' (from the root yudh- 'to fight') + ā, a feminine suffix.

The presence of the Lopburi and Pa Sak rivers makes the province a major rice farming area.

[7][8] Consistently, Prince Damrong also agreed that there was a city called Ayodhya which was found by the Khmers ruling from Lopburi at the point where the three rivers meet.

[9] Excavation map shows the traces from an ancient baray (water reservoir) close to the southwestern tip of Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon which could has been built on a former important Khmer temple complex.

The kingdom became a major regional player, and a trade center of the East, a meeting point of European merchants and Asian traders.

Notable monarchs during the Ayutthaya period include King Naresuan the Great, who liberated Ayutthaya from the first Burmese occupation and embarked on a reign of conquest, and King Narai the Great, who initiated diplomatic relations with France, during the reign of Louis XIV.

[11] According to legend, King Ramathibodi I found a beautiful conch shell buried in the ground, and chose the site as the place for his capital.

The provincial slogan ราชธานีเก่า อู่ข้าวอู่น้ำ เลิศล้ำกานท์กวี คนดีศรีอยุธยา เลอคุณค่ามรดกโลก can be translated as "The old capital, a land flowing with milk and honey, excellent literature, the good people of Ayutthaya, the treasured world heritage".

[13] Ayothaya,[14] Bang Ban, Phak Hai and Sena municipalities have town (thesaban mueang) status.

The non-municipal areas are administered by 121 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).