Karhula is a former market town (kauppala) and a former municipality of Finland in the former Kymi Province, now in the Kymenlaakso region.

Karhula was originally the name of a seat farm in the village of Helilä in the parish of Pyhtää and the chapel community of Kymi.

As the population in the area increased, the village that had formed around the farm began to be called Karhula.

[3] In 1951, Kymi's main village Helilä, along with the industrial areas of Karhulanniemi, Sunila and Korkeakoski, were separated to form the municipality of Karhula.

[6] The Kotkan Motor Center is a motorsport complex approximately 9 kilometres north of the town, adjacent to Kymi Airfield.