It is located 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Banjarmasin, the largest city of the province.

[1] The large town of Martapura lies immediately to the north of Banjarbaru, and in effect constitutes an extension of the city.

The second largest city in the province after Banjarmasin, it is also part of Banjarbakula metropolitan area.

[5] Banjarbaru was previously only a temporary name used by governor Dr. Murdjani to differentiate it from Banjarmasin, as "baru" means "new" in Indonesian.

[6] Diamond mines in Cempaka have existed since the 15th century under the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom Negara Dipa.

[9] Cempaka diamond mines under the colonial era were regulated under Ordonantie 25 Nopember 1923 Staatblast 1923 No.

[10] In the 1950s, because of frequent floods that disrupted government activities in Banjarmasin, it was suggested to relocate the capital of then-Kalimantan province to a new city.

As of April 2021,[update] only the South Kalimantan governor's office has been relocated, while the parliament is still in Banjarmasin.

[6][9][13][14] The city was previously intended by Sukarno to be new center of the steel industry in Kalimantan with assistance from the Soviet Union to develop it.

However, the plan to construct steel factories was never realized until after the 30 September Movement and subsequent purge of communism in Indonesia.

Traces of Soviet projects can be seen in the city such as with Mess L.[17][18][19] On 20 April 1999, Banjarbaru was separated from Banjar Regency (of which it had previously been a part) and gained its status as an independent city, although it was still recognized as part of the Banjarbakula metropolitan area.

[32][34] Cempaka district's economy is the only one that relies on mining (mainly diamond) and the agriculture sector.

[10] The city authority faced difficulty in collecting taxes from the mining industry because of its informal nature and the fact that most diamond transactions happened in secrecy.

[39][40] The city is part of the 7th electoral district for provincial parliament, together with Tanah Laut Regency, which combined have 8 out of 55 representatives.

[51][52] "Kampung Pelangi" (lit: rainbow village) has become a major tourist spot in the city.

Previously a slum, it has been upgraded to showcase a waterfront, a better housing complex with parks, a pedestrian area, and WiFi corners.

There are seven hospitals in the city, 10 puskesmas, 37 clinics, 128 healthcare centers, and 18 maternity cottages.

[68][69] Previously, the city featured the Haji Idak Stadium, but it was demolished and the site is now used for the new wet market building.

[67][70] As the replacement, a bigger new sport complex named "New Stadium of Banjarbaru" is planned to be built in the Landasan Ulin district.

A toll road connecting the city to Batulicin is under construction as of November 2020[update].

[83] As of 2021,[update] there is a plan for an airport rail link which is expected to start construction in December 2021, which would also be connected to Banjarmasin.

[89] However, due to lack of registration & verification, the numbers could be higher according to the Indonesian Cyber Media Union.