[4] Created in 1937 out of border okrugs of Vinnytsia Oblast, in 1941–44 it was under Nazi Germany occupation and part of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Wolhynien und Podolien general district).

Following the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket in spring of 1944 as part of the Proskurov-Chernovtsy operation, Soviet troops removed the German occupation in the region.

The Podolian Upland (270–370 meters above sea-level) occupies the central area of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast.

The northwestern areas of the oblast are part of the Volyn highland (highest point — 329 m above sea-level), while to the north, the oblast claims a part of the historic region of Polissia (highest point — 200–250 m above sea-level).

The southwestern territory of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast is crossed by the Tovtry range (Ukrainian: Товтровий кряж, romanized: Tovtrovyi kriazh), which includes Mount Velyka Buhaikha (Ukrainian: Велика Бугаїха), the highest point of the oblast at 409 m above sea-level.

The largest of these are the Dniester River (which flows for 160 km (99.42 mi) within the oblast), as well as its tributaries: Smotrych, Ushytsia, and the Zbruch — and the Southern Buh River (which flows for 120 km (74.56 mi) within the oblast), as well as its tributaries: Buzhok, Ikva, and Vovk.

During the World War II the territory was part of another administrative division (General District Wolhynien und Podolien, see Reichskommissariat Ukraine), but after liberation from the Nazi Germany, Khmelnytskyi Oblast was reinstated in its original borders.

The governor of the oblast is the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council speaker, appointed by the President of Ukraine.

The Khmelnyts’ka nuclear power plant in the city of Netishyn is the most important industrial company of the oblast.