It is located on the northern bank of the River Yare around 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Norwich.

The village lies a little distance from the river, on the slopes of Strumpshaw Hill, the highest area of land in the Norfolk Broads.

Because of its elevation, Strumpshaw hosted, from the late 1790s through to the mid-1810s, a repeater station in the shutter telegraph chain linking the Admiralty in London with Great Yarmouth.

The Strumpshaw Fen RSPB reserve is operated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

It is bordered to the east by Buckenham Marshes RSPB reserve and lies within the Mid-Yare National Nature Reserve and Yare Broads and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest.