The town's name is derived from Russian "Долгий пруд" (dolgy prud, lit.

The town can be reached by suburban train from the Savyolovsky Terminal of Moscow in about twenty minutes to one of the three platforms: Novodachnaya, Dolgoprudnaya, or Vodniki, or by bus shuttle from Khovrino and Altufyevo stations of the Moscow Metro.

The Dmitrovskoye highway connecting Moscow with Dmitrov and Dubna passes just east of the town.

In 1951, the famous Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology or Phystech, moved to Dolgoprudny, and a construction of its present campus started in the southern part of the town, inspired by the Nobel Prize winners Pyotr Kapitsa, Lev Landau, and Nikolay Semyonov.

It is being extensively developed with much commercial and residential construction due to its favorable location and following the growing demand for real estate in the suburbs of Moscow.