The river rises north east of Sharp Hill and flows in a north-westerly direction until discharging into the Indian Ocean via Walmsley Bay near Port Warrender.

The best known feature of the river is Mitchell Falls located within the Mitchell River National Park, a three tiered series of drops with a combined height of nearly 80 metres (260 ft).

In 1921 the river was named after Sir James Mitchell the Premier of Western Australia by surveyor William Eastman.

[4] Nine species of freshwater fish are known to inhabit the waters of the Mitchell River.

This article related to a river in Western Australia is a stub.