It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Hof, Kulmbach, Lichtenfels and Coburg, and the state of Thuringia (districts of Sonneberg, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt and Saale-Orla).

Kronach was ruled by the bishopric of Bamberg from 1102 until 1803, when the clerical states of Germany were dissolved.

A large portion of the district is part of the Franconian Forest nature park.

The Franconian Forest (German Frankenwald) is a hill chain rising to 795 metres (2,608 ft) To the southwest the country is sloping away.

Several narrow rivers run southwards through the district in order to join the river Main beyond the district's borders, among them the Kronach.