It was renamed in 1900 by the Surveyor General H F Johnston to honour Hann; a Philips River already existed in the south of the state.

The river rises below Mount Lacy and Sir John Gorge and then flows in a southerly direction past Mount Elizabeth then crossing the Gibb River Road.

Hann River, a threatened species of Poaceae, located along its course.

[5] Fish such as the western rainbowfish, the Kimberley archerfish, Greenway's grunter and the false spotted gudgeon have all been found within the river system.

This article related to a river in Western Australia is a stub.