The Belavezhskaya Pushcha Biosphere Reserve spans ab area of 216,200 ha (2,162 km2; 835 sq mi) (2015), subdivided into transition, buffer, and core zones.

[7] The park is home to a large population of European bison, the continent's heaviest land animals.

It has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of black and white storks, Eurasian eagle-owls, European honey-buzzards, and lesser spotted and greater spotted eagles.

After World War II the forest was divided in accordance with the Polish–Soviet border agreement of August 1945 between the People's Republic of Poland and the Byelorussian SSR of the Soviet Union.

In 1957, the Belarusian part received a new status – “The State Reserve-Hunting Farm” (Russian: Государственное заповедно-охотничье хозяйство), intended for recreation of the top leaders of the Soviet state and their guests from friendly countries.