Patharghata (Bengali: পাথরঘাটা উপজেলা) is a coastal sub-district (upazila) within the Barguna District[4] in Barisal Division, Bangladesh.

It is home to the Tengragiri Wildlife Sanctuary, the second largest breathable forest in Bangladesh after the Sundarbans.

According to the 2011 census, the total population of Patharghata Upazila is 163,927, comprising 80,544 males and 83,383 females, spread across 43,085 households.

At that time, this subdivision included the areas of Patuakhali, Mirzaganj, Gulishakhali, Bauphal, and Galachipa, totaling 5 police stations.

Later, towards the end of the century, for administrative convenience, the police stations of Bamna, Patharghata, Barguna, Betagi, and Khepupara were established.

To maintain peace and order and to counter pirate attacks, a temporary police outpost was constructed on the banks of the Bishkhali River in Fuljhuri in the early nineteenth century.

Subsequently, as chars formed in the Bay of Bengal and cultivation began in the Sundarbans area, significant settlements developed.

In the early twentieth century, some people from the areas of Mathbaria, Bamna, and Betagi came here, cleared Sundari tree gardens, and began to settle.

Later, in 1926, the British government brought merchants from Dhaka and Faridpur to establish businesses in Patharghata market, including tailor and sweet shops.

Due to administrative convenience, increased size, and population growth, Barguna became a sub-district town in the historical records with the creation of the Patuakhali District in 1969.

Patharghata has a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 60.5%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1038 females per 1000 males.