The towns along the Kinzig are Schlüchtern, Steinau an der Straße, Bad Soden-Salmünster, Gelnhausen, and Hanau.

Another Kinzig flows into the Rhine in Kehl-Auenheim The source of the Kinzig (Kinzigquelle) is located at a height of about 400 m above sea level (NN), in the vicinity of an Aussiedlerhof, a recently established farmstead outside a village, south of Sterbfritz in the municipality of Sinntal.

West of Schlüchtern the Kinzig flows in a southwesterly direction and separates the Vogelsberg hills to the north from the Spessart to the south.

After about 82 kilometres, the river empties into the Main in Hanau at a height of about 100 m above sea level (NN).

(in downstream order) The Kinzig catchment covers an area of 1,058 square kilometres.