[3][4] In the past, it has been known as Kyūkoku (九国, "Nine Countries"), Chinzei (鎮西, "West of the Pacified Area") and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島, "Island of Tsukushi").

[6] The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mount Aso at 1,591 metres (5,220 ft), is on Kyūshū.

[9] The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, and Satsuma.

Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, and soy; also, silk is widely produced.

Besides the volcanic area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the northern part of the island, around Beppu.

The springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile microorganisms, which are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.

Kyūshū also has a thriving healthcare industry, including medical and nursing care, and numerous research and manufacturing facilities in the fields of hydrogen, solar power, and other renewable energies.

Furthermore, Fukuoka City, Kitakyushu City and Okinawa Prefecture have been designated as National Strategic Special Zones, which are expected to have an economic ripple effect on the entire Kyūshū region through the creation of innovation in industry and the promotion of new entrepreneurship and start-ups.

As the logistics node between Japan and Asia, the ports of Hakata and Kitakyushu handle a large number of international containers.

Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals, automobiles, semiconductors, metal processing, shipbuilding, etc.