It is located in the central Virginia area, off of U.S. Route 360 (Hull Street Road), about 20 miles southwest of Richmond.

Metro Richmond Zoo encompasses about 70 acres (28 ha) and houses around 2,000 animals representing over 190 species, including reticulated giraffe, white rhinoceros, snow leopard, cheetah and Grant's zebra.

From May 7 to June 13, 2020, the zoo reopened as a drive thru tour, where visitors can bring in their private vehicles to ride through the pathway.

Visitors can also purchase zoo treats for deer, goats, sheep, donkeys, and young antelope in the children's farm.

The North American area of the zoo is home to elk, bison, wolves, Steller's sea eagles, skunks, mouflons, fallow deers, and alligators.

There are enclosures for raccoons, binturongs and Indian crested porcupines as well as an exhibit for red kangaroos, emus, and common wallaroos.

2004 saw the opening of a walk-through aviary near the zoo entrance containing roseate spoonbill, demoiselle crane, sacred ibis, and multiple species of waterfowl such as yellow-billed duck, Mandarin duck, paradise shelduck, ringed teal, common shelduck, rosybill and red-crested pochard.

The safari ride enclosure includes gemsbok, waterbuck, greater kudu, eland, lowland nyala, Thomson's gazelle, Scimitar oryx, Baird's tapir, and ostrich.

[6] Around the penguin exhibit are enclosures containing the camels, and nearby is a South American exhibit containing specimens such as Brazilian tapir, greater rhea, giant anteater, capybara, llama, alpaca, king vulture, toucans, and new world primates, along with crested fireback and southern white-faced scops owl.

Nearby is an aviary containing blue-and-yellow macaws, salmon-crested cockatoos, red-crowned amazons, crested screamers, Reeves's pheasants, and a grey parrot.

The zoo offers seed-coated Popsicle sticks that visitors can purchase to attract the birds to perch and feed in the aviary.

New arrivals in 2010 and 2011 were golden pheasant, white-faced saki, Kirk's dik-dik, steenbok, great white pelican, marabou stork, Himalayan tahr, yellow-backed duiker, toco toucan, red-billed toucan, black howler monkey, crested screamer, Reeve's pheasant, and Allen's swamp monkey.

In mid-April 2013, a Baird's tapir and a Ruppell's griffon vulture were added to the zoo, and can be seen in a safari-ride preserve area.

Later this year, two new primate islands similar to the existing ones holding chimpanzees and orangutans were made to be viewed from the Safari Train Ride.

Other threatened and endangered animals living here include the Asian black bear, Bengal tiger, Galapagos giant tortoise, and black-and-white ruffed lemur.