[clarification needed] Located in the central portion of the province, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Wuhu to the southeast, Tongling to the south, Anqing to the southwest and Lu'an to the west.

A natural hub of communications, Hefei is situated to the north of Chao Lake and stands on a low saddle crossing the northeastern extension of the Dabie Mountains, which forms the divide between the Huai and Yangtze rivers.

Before World War II, Hefei remained essentially an administrative centre and the regional market for the fertile plain to the south.

Hefei is a world leading city for scientific research, with its ranking placed at 13th globally, 8th in the Asia-Pacific and 6th in China (behind Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Wuhan), as tracked by the Nature Index in 2023.

During the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, this crucial border region between northern and southern states was much fought over; its name and administrative status were consequently often changed.

During the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) periods, it became the seat of Lu prefecture—a title it kept until the 15th century, when it became a superior prefecture named Luzhou.

The present city dates from the Song dynasty (960–1126), the earlier Hefei having been some distance farther north.

In the 10th year of Xining (熙宁, 1077 AD), the taxes collected from the Luchow Prefecture were 50315 Guan, approximately 25 million today's Chinese Yuan, with a ranking of the amount of taxes was the 11th(following Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Qinzhou, Chuzhou, Chengdu, Zizhou, Xingyuan, Mianzhou, Zhenzhou, Suzhou) among all the prefectures of Song Dynasty.

Before World War II, Hefei remained essentially an administrative center and the regional market for the fertile plain to the south.

The construction in 1912 of the Tianjin–Pukou railway, farther east, for a while made Hefei a provincial backwater, and much of its importance passed to Bengbu.

In 1932–36, however, a Chinese company built a railway linking Hefei with Yuxikou (on the Yangtze opposite Wuhu) to the southeast and with the Huai River at Huainan to the north.

While this railway was built primarily to exploit the rich coalfield in northern Anhui, it also did much to revive the economy of the Hefei area by taking much of its produce to Wuhu and Nanjing.

[13]: 126  The establishment of these educational and research and development institutions in Hefei were a foundations for its subsequent growth in innovation.

[13]: 129 A period of rapid growth began in 2005, when Hefei party secretary Sun Jinlong initiated a strategy of industry-based city building.

[13]: 127  The city government established a department for attracting investment and sent teams around the country to recruit businesses to Hefei.

[13]: 127  Hefei's GDP grew at the highest rate of any Chinese provincial capital during Sun's tenure.

[13]: 127–128 Since the 2010s, Hefei has developed high-tech industries and an innovation-driven economy,[13]: 129  including semi-conductors and alternative energy economic sectors.

Though, the lake has unfortunately been polluted with nitrogen and phosphorus, in recent decades,[15] the situation is improving due to efforts by both the government and the people.

In the months of June, July, August, and often September, daily temperatures can reach or surpass 37 °C (99 °F) with high humidity levels being the norm.

The prefecture-level city of Hefei administers 9 county-level divisions, including 4 districts, 1 county-city and 4 counties.

[13]: 128 The local government invested heavily in NIO in order to integrate it with Hefei Changan Automobile, a legacy enterprise from the Third Front construction.

[14]: 185  NIO was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2020 when Hefei obtained a 25% stake in the company in exchange for RMB 7 billion.

[28]: 101  NIO moved its headquarters to Hefei, where the government helped it obtain loans from local banks to expand its supply chains.

[27]: 141–142 Hefei has been the provincial capital since 1945 (before it was Lihuang, which is today's Jinzhai) and is a natural center of transportation, being situated to the north of Chao Lake and standing on a low saddle crossing the northeastern extension of the Dabie Mountains, which form the divide between the Huai and Yangtze rivers.

This new domestic aviation hub is located in Gaoliu Village situated in the northwestern part of Hefei City.

As planned, Line 1 covers a total distance of 24 kilometres (15 miles) starting from Hefei Railway Station.

It will pass through the city center area and connect to a transit point where passengers will be able to take the shuttle bus to Hefei Xinqiao International Airport.

105 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, located in Hefei, is reportedly the site of the first human trials using CRISPR genome editing, doing so in 2015.

[13]: 126 Hefei is a world leading city for scientific research, with its ranking placed at 13th globally, 8th in the Asia-Pacific and 6th in China (behind Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Wuhan), as tracked by the Nature Index in 2023.

5The claimed province of Taiwan no longer have any internal division announced by Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC, due to lack of actual jurisdiction.