South Coogee is located 9 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick.

Coogee is said to be taken from a local Aboriginal word koojah which means "smelly place", or "stinking seaweed", a reference to the smell of decaying kelp washed up on the beach.

Latham Park is a large recreation area that features football fields, cricket pitches, tennis courts and bowls greens.

A small shopping strip is located in Malabar Road, close to the boundary of Randwick Cemetery.

Another strip of shops sits one kilometre further south along Malabar Road at the corner of Torrington Road, Lurline Bay is a secluded rocky basin located between Coogee and Maroubra Beaches in suburb of South Coogee.