Its name Khánh-hòa is inherently a Hanese phonetic way of Kauthara, a Cham mandala once existed in the region.

Under French Indochina, the provincial capital was located in Diên Khánh Citadel, but it was relocated to Nha Trang in 1945.

The II Corp. headquarters were located in Nha Trang and populated by general and field officers, intelligence groups and ARVN liaisons.

Its geographical coordinates are 108°40’33" to 109°27’55" E and 11°42’50" to 12°52’15" N. The provincial coastline spreads from Đại Lãnh Commune to the end of Cam Ranh Bay with 385 km (239 mi) of coastline featuring numerous creek mouths, lagoons, river mouths, and hundreds of islands and islets.

Cam Ranh Bay is strategically important and has been used as a naval base by several major powers throughout history.

The highest peak is Vọng Phu Mountain (2,051 m (6,729 ft)) at the border of Đắk Lắk province.

87,100 ha (215,230 acres) or 16.7% of Khánh Hòa's total area are used for farming, one of the lowest shares in the South Central Coast.

The climate on the summit of Hòn Bà Mountain (located 30 km (19 mi) from Nha Trang) features a climate like that of Đà Lạt and Sa Pa. As of 2007[update], the province had a population of 1.147 million,[7] of which the majority are Kinh or Vietnamese people, the dominant ethnic group in Vietnam.

With a GDP per capita of 16.1 million VND (2007), Khánh Hòa is economically the most developed province of central Vietnam (after Da Nang).

The province is endowed with beautiful natural landscapes and beaches, which (together with its Cham heritage) attracts a large number of tourists.

[7] This is mostly due to the large number of aquaculture farms in the province, which make up around two thirds of the fishing output.

The province has also benefited significantly from investment related to the former Russian naval base at Cam Ranh, to which around 30 factories were attached.

As a coastal province featuring several natural deep water bays, Khánh Hòa has what is needed to develop its deep-water seaports.