It is bordered by the Indian states of Tripura and Assam to the south and east, respectively; by the Bangladeshi districts of Habiganj to the west and Sylhet to the north.

[5][6] Copper plates have been found from 930 AD in Paschimbagh, Tengubazar Mandir, Rajnagar and one of Raja Marundanath from the 11th century in Kalapur, Srimangal.

[7] The terrain was headquarters of the ancient Ita Kingdom founded by Raja Bhanu Narayan and its capital was in the villages of Bhumiura and Eolatoli.

Shah Mustafa of Baghdad, a descendant of Abdul Qadir Gilani, migrated to Chandrapur ruled by Raja Chandra Singh where he lived on top of a small hill with his son Syed Ismail and would preach to the local people.

The famous Jahan Kosha Cannon, built by Janardan Karmakar remains in display in Dhaka.

[7] After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British gave the region surrounding Moulvibazar high importance, especially in tea production.

[10] A mass deforestation took place from 1898 to 1899, clearing the Longla-Singla Reserve in order to make space for settlements.

In 1921, the anti-British Khilafat Movement also spread to Moulvibazar and campaigners that were present included Chittaranjan Das, Hussain Ahmed Madani and Sarojini Naidu.

[11] On the same year, the non-cooperation movement also spread here after being established by Purnendu Kishore Sengupta in Vidia Ashram, Rangirkul, Kulaura.

In 1960, the South Sylhet sub-division was renamed as Moulvibazar by the mahakuma administrator Dr M A Sattar.

[4] In 1950, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, visited Prithimpassa in Kulaura and stayed for four days at the palace and went wildlife hunting in the Estate forests alongside Khwaja Nazimuddin and Ayub Khan.

On 20 December, a number of people were killed and wounded by mine explosions at the premises of the Moulvibazar Government High School.

[11] On 22 February 1984, the President of Bangladesh, H M Ershad, upgraded its sub-division status to a district as a part of his decentralisation programme.

[citation needed] The main rivers of the district are the Manu, the Dholoi and the Juri which flow from India.

[citation needed] In the last few years Moulvibazar has had a muti-million dollar flood defence system built, which is the only one like it in the whole country.

Moulvibazar had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 75.85%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 92.57 males per 100 females.

[citation needed] Sylhet division's largest Hindu temple "Kadipur Shib Bari" located at Kulaura upazila in Moulvibazar district.

The revivalist Deobandi movement is popular in with Jamia Luthfia Anwarul Uloom Hamidnagar being a notable centre in Srimangal and many are part of the Tablighi Jamaat.

Begum Talib-un-Nisa Khatun of Prithimpasha's Chhoto Saheb Bari established the famous Rabir Bazar Jame Masjid in the late 18th century.

[17] The incomplete list of parganas of South Sylhet are as follows: Later on, South Sylhet subdivision was divided into five thanas:[18] The main exports of Moulvibazar are bamboo, tea, pineapple, cane, jackfruit, oranges, agar, rubber, mangoes and lemons.