[6] The headwaters of Oxley Creek begin on the eastern slopes of an unnamed ridgeline in Undullah in Logan City, at the south-eastern extent of the Brisbane River's basin.

From here, the creek flows in a north-easterly direction for about 70 kilometres (43 mi), eventually discharging into the Brisbane River where it forms the boundary between the suburbs of Graceville and Tennyson.

In the middle and lower catchment, Oxley Creek and its tributaries flow through 28 Brisbane suburbs including Algester, Corinda, Darra, Durack, Forest Lake, Moorooka, Salisbury, Sunnybank Hills, and Sherwood.

Major industrial areas of Acacia Ridge, Coopers Plains and Rocklea are located in the catchment, as well as waste water treatment plants at Oxley and Inala, and the vicinity of Archerfield Airport.

Traditional owners in the catchment made use of the abundant natural resources, various plants and animals were used as staple foods and the roots of the bungwall fern a particular favourite.

[2][3] As early as 1828, hoop pine was being felled near the mouth of Oxley Creek for use in the Moreton Bay penal settlement and in the area that is now known as Chelmer and Graceville.

The district park replaces the former Inala wastewater treatment plant and has a number of indoor and outdoor community spaces, playgrounds with water features, and picnic and barbeque facilities.

[12][13] Residential and industry development, sewage, sediment, land clearing and sand mining in the catchment have greatly affected the water quality of Oxley Creek, particularly in its lower reaches.

[14] Key environmental issues that face the catchment include rapid population increase and development, altered flow patterns of the creek causing active erosion, deteriorating water quality, increased noise and vehicle movements, waste disposal, invasion of bushland by exotic plants and animals, management of the extractive industries and the day-to-day behaviour of residents and workers of the catchment.

Some locals want a groyne to be built at the mouth of the creek to aid flows and reduce sediment, while others want a halt to sand mining because it produces silt.