Originally it bordered Équateur to the west, Congo-Kasaï to the southwest and Katanga to the south.

After being reduced in size, it bordered Équateur to the west, Kasaï-Oriental province to the southwest, Maniema to the south, and North Kivu to the southeast.

It also bordered the Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north, and Uganda to the east.

The new province contained the districts of Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, Stanleyville, Aruwimi, Maniema, Lowa and Kivu.

In 1998 the Orientale villages of Durba and Watsa were the center of an outbreak of Marburg virus disease among gold mine workers.

[3] The province was divided into the city of Kisangani and the districts of Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri and Tshopo.