The line runs north from Tagawa to Kanada Station, all within Fukuoka Prefecture.

The first part was built in 1897 as a branch line by the Hōshū Railway (豊州鉄道), a third-sector railway to transport coal from the Chikuhō Coal Mine.

Within the same year, the line was transferred to the Kyushu Sankyū Railway (九州産業鉄道), who then changed their name to Sankyū Cement Railway (産業セメント鉄道) in 1933.

With the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (successor of the JGR) in 1987, the Itoda Line fell under the control of Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu).

All trains run as local services and stop at all stations.