It is situated in the middle of the Dalmatian archipelago, northwest of Šolta, 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) from the mainland.

[3] The only settlement on the island is the near-eponymous village of Drvenik Veliki (pronounced [dr̩v̞ɛ̌niːk v̞ɛ̂likiː]) with a population of 150 (2011 census).

[5][7] The coast of the island is mainly rocky, but also has a few famous sand and pebble beaches like Krknjaši and Kokošinje.

[8] The name Zirona likely originated from the Illyrian root "gųer" meaning "forest", possibly because of the island's once dense woodlands.

In Croatian documents from the 13th century, the island is mentioned as Girona, Gerona or Giruna.