Charlton Kings is situated in the west foothills of the north–south Cotswolds, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

[2] Charlton Kings Common and Leckhampton Hill are also designated as SSSIs by Natural England.

The place name comes from Anglo-Saxon times, the word "Charlton" evolved from the term ceorls' tun, a ceorl latterly rendered churl being the Saxon term for an independent peasant landowner and -tun (latterly rendered -ton) meaning an enclosure with a dwelling.

[4] Evidence of settlement in Charlton Kings as early as the middle Iron Age was found underneath a Roman villa discovered in 1980.

Main roads east to Oxford (A40) south to Bath (A46) and Cirencester (A417) south-east run through Charlton Kings, buses from Stagecoach and National Express also serve these destinations.

The Charlton Kings section of the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway line had a troublesome construction mainly due to the clay in the soil, progress was slow, and the line was opened in 1881 with a small station in Charlton Kings.

Between 1899 and 1914, the Charlton Kings line had frequent services to Cheltenham, Banbury and Swindon and major expresses to cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Southampton.

Electric trams operated by the Cheltenham and District Light Railway were also used in Charlton Kings between 1903 and 1930 when they were replaced by buses.

It houses numerous historical artifacts, including an old alms chest used for collecting money to donate to the Third Crusade which may date back to 1190.