It shares its border with the state of Uttarakhand and it is the principal commercial, industrial and educational hub of Western Uttar Pradesh.

The earliest settlers of Muzaffarnagar and the region around it were Brahmins and Rajputs, followed by later migrations of Jat and Gurjar tribes.

[4] The town was established in 1633 by the son of a Mughal Commander Sayyid Muzaffar Khan Barha, otherwise known as Khan-i-Jahan,[5] during the reign of Shah Jahan.

The Indian Muslim inhabitants of Barha especially from near the town of Jansath were heavily recruited in the Mughal army and in the personal cavalry of the Sayyid Brothers.

[8] In 1901, during the British Raj, it was a district in the Meerut Division in United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.

[10] On 18 October 1976, during "The Emergency, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's suspension of democracy in India, between 25 and 30 people protesting against compulsory sterilisation were killed when Uttar Pradesh police fired into the crowd.

According to a May 2015 report in India Today:Shamli and adjoining Muzaffarnagar districts are considered sensitive ever since large-scale communal violence erupted in August and September 2013.

Muzaffarnagar has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate characterised by much hot summers and cooler winters.

According to Economic Research firm Indicus Analytics, Muzaffarnagar has the highest agricultural GDP in Uttar Pradesh, as well as UP's largest granary.

Indian Railways provides connections to New Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, South India, and other parts of the country.

Cities and areas of Hardwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun as well as Badrinath and Kedarnath are served by this highway.

[citation needed] Muzaffarnagar lies approximately halfway on the road from Delhi to Uttarakhand Rishikesh (the NH-58).

Especially, the town of Khatauli is famed for its canal side forest park named "Cheetal".