The partido covers 1,453 km2 and has a population of 564,056 (2001 census [INDEC]), most of whom live in the large coastal resort of Mar del Plata.

The partido is named after Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (1776–1850), who fought in the defence of Buenos Aires against the occupation by the Royal Navy in 1806, and fought for his country again in the Argentine War of Independence.

He later became a politician, serving as governor of Córdoba Province and as Supreme Director of Argentina.

The economy of General Pueyrredón Partido is dominated by the summer tourist season (December–February), when hundreds of thousands of vacationers make their way from the Gran Buenos Aires urban area to the Atlantic coast of Argentina.

The main city of General Pueyrredón Partido, Mar del Plata, holds one of the most important fishing ports of Argentina.