The Mzingwane River is an ephemeral river with flow generally restricted to the months when rain takes place (November to March), with most flow recorded between December and February, except where it has been modified by dam operations.

[1] Major tributaries of the Mzingwane River include the Insiza, Inyankuni, Ncema, Umchabezi (not to be confused with Mtshabezi) and Mtetengwe Rivers.

The lower Mzingwane River is a sand filled channel, with extensive alluvial aquifers in the river channel and below the alluvial plains.

Estimated water resources potential of these aquifers ranges between 175,000 and 5,430,000 cubic metres (6,200,000 and 191,800,000 cu ft) in the channels and between 80,000 and 6,920,000 cubic metres (2,800,000 and 244,400,000 cu ft) in the plains.

[3] The settlements below are ordered from the beginning of the river to its end: There are four main bridges over the Mzingwane River: There are also a number of fords, including: In addition to a number of small weirs, there are two major dams on the Mzingwane River: Additional dam sites have been identified at Glassblock and Oakley Block, but development is not currently scheduled.