The Poltava Oblast was established on 22 September 1937 by a resolution of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union.

During the Nazi Germany occupation in 1941–43, most of the region belonged to Kiew Generalbezirke (general district), while the rest was part of the German military rear area.

[citation needed] In 2020, as part of a general Ukrainian administrative reform, Poltava Oblast reduced the number of its raions by increasing them in size.

[citation needed] Poltava Oblast is situated in the central part of Ukraine.

Located on the left bank of the Dnieper, the Poltava region was part of the Cossack Hetmanate.

The oblast does not contain any notable landforms apart from the Dnieper river, the land is gently undulating.

[6] The oblast is a center of Ukraine's oil and natural gas industry, with many wells and pipelines situated here.