Adjacent towns include Kulai (north), Iskandar Puteri (southwest), Pekan Nanas (west) and the Johor Bahru suburbs of Kempas (east) and Tampoi (southeast).

Skudai falls within the Iskandar Puteri constituency in the Malaysian Parliament, currently represented by Liew Chin Tong from Democratic Action Party (DAP).

In the Johor State Legislative Assembly, Skudai is represented by Marina Ibrahim, also from the DAP.

Skudai however is still well within Johor Bahru's metropolitan area and by extension, part of the Iskandar Malaysia development region.

Skudai is also the southern end of Federal Route 5 which begins in Ipoh, Perak and runs through the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia.