Chittagong Division is home to Cox's Bazar, the longest natural sea beach in the world;[6][7] as well as St. Martin's Island, Bangladesh's sole coral reef.

[9] In 1984, fifteen districts were created by separating and reducing the original five districts of Chittagong, Comilla, Hill Tracts, Noakhali and Sylhet:[citation needed] Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Sunamganj district ceded from the Chittagong Division to join a newly established Sylhet Division in 1995.

Chittagong Division is presently subdivided into eleven districts (zilas) and thence into 100 sub-districts (upazilas).

[10] The first six districts listed below comprise the north-western portion (37.6%) of the division, while the remaining five comprise the south-eastern portion (62.4%), the two portions being separated by the lower (or Bangladeshi) stretch of the Feni River; the upland districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban together comprise that area previously known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Chittagong Division had 7,528,333 households and a population of 33,202,326, 33.7% of whom lived in urban areas.