Sultanbeyli is a landlocked district, bordered by Sancaktepe to the west, Pendik to the east and Kartal to the south-west.

In 1957, Sultanbeyli was formally organized as a village; after its establishment, some shareholders began to sell their plots of land.

Sultanbeyli became a large settlement center in the late 1980s following the connection of the O-4 Motorway to the newly constructed Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in 1988.

The new transport links made the village an attractive location for settlement, and between 1985 and 1990, Sultanbeyli's population skyrocketed from 3,741 to 82,298.

This caused Sultanbeyli to develop a reputation as a slum, but it has since transitioned into a working class suburb.