The name Satun is a Thai version of its original Malay name, Setul (santol, or wild mangosteen tree).

Close to the border with Malaysia is the Thale Ban National Park, a big freshwater swamp area.

The three groups of offshore islands in the Andaman Sea form the Ko Sarai (Thai: เกาะสาหร่าย, pronounced [kɔ̀ʔ sǎːràːj]) subdistrict (tambon) of Mueang Satun District.

While most of Kedah was ceded to Britain, Satun was awarded to Siam because it had a relatively large Thai population.

Until 1916 Satun was a small Malay state known as Kingdom of Setul Mambang Segara, closely associated to the Kedah Sultanate.

The provincial seal shows Phra Samut Thewa (समुद्र देवा Samudra Deva, "God of the ocean") sitting on a rock in the sea, with the sunset behind.

[8] Since Satun had belonged to the Kedah Sultanate, which had a strong relationship for many centuries with both Ayutthaya and Siam under the Chakri dynasty, its Malay Muslims commonly intermarry with Thai Buddhists without serious religious hesitation.

This custom has created a distinct social group known as samsam, meaning a mixed person.

As of 26 November 2019 there are:[12] one Satun Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 7 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province.

The non-municipal areas are administered by 34 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).

[2] According to a Satun Provincial Office spokesman, the province's tourism income rose from two to 6.3 billion baht from 2010 to 2013, while tourist arrivals increased from 690,000 to 1.13 million.