The territory of the present district belonged to the princely state of Jhalawar till India's independence in 1947.

The district lies in the Hadoti region in southeast Rajasthan, on the edge of Malwa Plateau.

The Kali Sindh River flows northward through the center of the district.

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Jhalawar one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).

[1] Jhalawar has a sex ratio of 945 females for every 1000 males,[1] and a literacy rate of 62.13%.