The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu and encloses forests, scrub lands, lakes and streams.

Covering an area of 5 km2 (1.93 sq mi), the park was one of the last remnants of tropical dry evergreen forest along the Coromandel Coast and was originally a game reserve.

In the early 1670s, a garden space was carved out of the area and a residence called the Guindy Lodge was built by Governor William Langhorne (1672–1678) for recreation.

[2][3][4] Between 1961 and 1977, about 172 ha (430 acres) of the forest, was transferred to various government departments in order to build educational institutions and memorials.

[5] In 1958, a portion of the forest area was transferred to the Union Education Ministry for establishing the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT).

The park has two large tanks, namely, Kathan Kollai and Appalam Kolam, in addition to two ponds, which usually dry up during summer.

The region's physiognomy occurs as discontinuous or dense scrub-woodlands and thickets, containing species such as introduced Acacia planifrons, Clausena dentata shrubs, palmyrah palm (Borassus flabellifer), Randia dumetorum, Randia malabarica, Carissa spinarum, Acacia chundra, exotic cactus Cereus peruviana and Glycosmis mauritiana.

The near threatened blackbuck, considered the flagship species of the park, was introduced in 1924 by Lord Willingdon and has seen a population decline in recent times.

The census was taken in the Guindy National Park and the adjoining areas using the transect method, which would only reveal the numbers close to the actual figure.

The park has over 150 species of birds including grey partridge, crow pheasant, parrot, quail, paradise flycatcher, black-winged kite, honey buzzard, pariah kite, golden-backed woodpecker, yellow-wattled lapwing, red-wattled lapwing, blue-faced malkoha, shrikes, Asian koel, minivets, munias, parakeet, tailor bird, robin, drongo, and stone curlew.

The children's park also exhibits a fossilized tree specimen which is estimated to be about 20 million years old and has a statue of a Tyrannosaurus at the entrance.