The town came to prominence throughout Southern India after the construction of the fort by Vanaji Pandithar, a feudatory of the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Shahuji I in 1686–87.

[2] Pattukkottai comes under the Pattukkottai assembly constituency which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years and it is a part of the Thanjavur (Lok Sabha constituency) which elects its Member of Parliament (MP) once in five years.

According to an inscription, the fortress of Pattukkottai was constructed by Vanaji Pandithar, a feudatory of the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Shahuji I in 1686–87.

[3] Pattukkottai was ruled by the Thanjavur Marathas till 1799 when it was annexed by the British East India Company.

Thiru S.D.Somasundaram,R.Venkatraman,V.Nadimuthu pillai,P Samuel Pillai, Kalyana Sundram,Alagiri are some of the most famous people born in this soil Pattukkottai 10°26′N 79°19′E / 10.43°N 79.32°E / 10.43; 79.32[4] is located along the southeastern coast of India in the East-central region of Tamil Nadu, in the general Kaveri River delta area.

Due to its geographical position, Pattukkottai generally experiences hot and humid climates and there is little to no extreme variation in seasonal temperature.

As it is nearer to the equator, the summer season starts from April and extends till early June.

This period observes the hottest part of the year, locally known as "Agni Nakshatram" or "Khatri veyil".

[17][18] The municipality is sub-divided into five revenue villages – Nadiyambal Puram, Kailasanathapuram, Maharajasamudram, Rengojiyappa Thottam and Pappaveli Palayamkottai.

[19][20] As per the latest draft electoral rolls released by the election commission, the Pattukottai assembly segment comprises 1,77,798 voters (85,476 male and 83,902 female).

[23] In British times, brass vessels, cotton cloths and mats were the main manufactures of Pattukkottai.

In 1951, anthropologist Kathleen Gough notes that Pattukkottai had the largest portion of zamindari[24] and inam lands in Thanjavur district.

Pattukkottai was declared a "coir cluster" in September 2007 in order to promote traditional coir-based industries.

[26] In Tamil Nadu, after Pollachi, coconut cultivation has been extensively done in Pattukkottai's surroundings on 30,000 hectares of land along the coast.

A coconut complex at Ponnvarayankottai near Pattukottai is to be constructed at a cost of Rs.4 Crores and will have sections for trading, grading coconuts and separating copra, drying yard, shops for traders, and for tourists, restrooms, information centre and parking lots.

There are regular buses to Chennai, Bangalore, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Kumbakonam, Muthupet, Thiruthuraipoondi, Velankanni, Nagapattinam, Vedaranyam, Mannargudi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Kanyakumari, Tiruchendur, Karaikudi, Pudukkottai, Palani, Tirupati, Rameswaram, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Marthandam, Thiruvananthapuram, Tenkasi, Kollam, Thoothukudi, and other towns and cities throughout Tamil Nadu.