The name is Nahuatl, and means either "maize dough" (masa) from textli; "our valley" from to ixtla; or "temple by the water" from teoixtlen' Antonia Nava de Catalán, a heroine of the Mexican War of Independence, was born in Tixtla.

[1] Tixtla was also the birthplace of both Independence hero and Mexican president Vicente Guerrero (1783–1831) and writer and educator Ignacio Manuel Altamirano (1834–1893).

[2] The municipality is located between 17°20' & 17°43' N and 99°15' & 99°28' W, some 20 km (12 mi) east of state capital Chilpancingo.

It reported 33,620 people in the 2000 census, including 18% Native Americans (speakers of Nahuatl and Tlapaneco).

Other towns in the municipality include Atliaca (population 5,981), Almolonga (1,346), Zoquiapa (1,243), and El Durazno (1,070).