It runs from Kew to Caulfield North, and includes major shopping districts at both Hawthorn and Malvern.

Glenferrie Road starts at the intersection with Cotham Road as a dual-lane, single-carriageway road, sharing tram tracks along its entire length, heading south under the Lilydale railway line through Hawthorn, under CityLink tollway and across the Glen Waverley railway line in Kooyong, over the Frankston railway line in Malvern and eventually ending at Dandenong Road on the northern edge of Caulfield North.

The Malvern tram depot is also located on Glenferrie Road, serving routes 5, 6, 58 and 72.

The Kooyong Tennis Stadium, the original home of the Australian Open, is located on Glenferrie Road, as are Stonnington House, formerly the Toorak Campus of Deakin University (and Government House, Melbourne from 1901 to 1927) and the biggest campus of the Swinburne University of Technology.

Malvern Town Hall, housing Stonnington City Council (seat of the local government area of the City of Stonnington), is located on the corner of High Street in Malvern.