To the north, it bordered Magadan Oblast and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.

Including the autonomous okrug, the total area of the oblast was 472,300 square kilometres (182,400 sq mi), encompassing the southern half of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The main employment sectors are fishing, forestry, tourism (a growing industry), and the Russian military.

There is still a large military presence on the peninsula; the home base of Russia's Pacific submarine fleet is across Avacha Bay from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at the Rybachy base.

The Chairman of the Council of People's Deputies of Kamchatka Oblast was the presiding officer of that legislature 1997-2007.