Russell Vale is a small suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.

Russell Vale was the home and estate of surveyor Francis Peter MacCabe, who died in 1897.

Median rents were $10 per week greater in Russell Vale at $400 than in the rest of the Wollongong LGA, although median monthly mortgage repayments were the same at $2,167.

[1][4] Russell Vale Colliery is an underground coal mine under the Woronora Plateau in the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment Area to the west of Russell Vale.

More recently, the mine has come under attack from local residents, as subsidence and cracking attributed to the mine's activities have been observed in the catchment area [5]