[1] It borders the Northern and Central Administrative Okrugs in the east and passes by the Khimki Reservoir and the Moscow District Railway.

In the south, it borders the Western Administrative Okrug and the bed of the Moskva River.

The North-Western Administrative Okrug was formed in 1991 from Tushinsky and Khoroshevsky (before 1990 Voroshilovsky) boroughs of Moscow.

The administrative okrug is sometimes referred to as "the lungs of the capital", as it is surrounded by the Khimki Reservoir, the Moskva River, and the Moscow Canal, with about 46% of its territory covered by natural features.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, what is now the administrative okrug's territory was home to peasant settlements in the Moscow suburbs Spas, Tushino, Strogino, Streshnevo, Khoroshevo, Shchukino, and others, which were incorporated into the boundaries of the city over the last fifty years.