[1] Malkangiri, or Malikamardhangiri, as it was historically known, was founded by king Malakimardhan Krishna Dev for his queen.

Since 1967, the town along with its district has been one of the worst affected regions due to the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency, although in recent years, the effect has been considerably reduced.

It covers an area of about 9.62 km2 (3.71 sq mi), and has an average elevation of 170 m (560 ft) above the mean sea level.

[4] The climate in Malkangiri is generally cold during winters and hot in summers, with temperatures varying from 13 °C (55 °F) to as high as 42 °C (108 °F).

Relative humidity is generally high, especially in the monsoon and post–monsoon months, due to the interior location of the town amidst the Eastern Ghats.

[6] After 2019 elections, the current MLA from Malkangiri Assembly (ST) Constituency is Aditya Madhi of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The previous MLA from Malkangiri Assembly (ST) Constituency was Manas Kumar Madkami of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), who won the seat in 2014.

There are regular buses that commute to and from the town everyday, like inter-state buses under Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), government, private and Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) tourist buses, plying to various locations in Odisha and neighbouring states, also to tourist spots around Malkangiri, like Angul, Balangir, Balimela, Bargarh, Bhadrachalam, Bhawanipatna, Bhilai, Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur, Chitrakonda, Cuttack, Dantewada, Durg, Hyderabad, Jagdalpur, Jeypore, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Khordha, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Puri, Raipur, Raigarh, Rayagada, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Sukma, Sundargarh, Titlagarh and Visakhapatnam.