It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest and Hubei to the southeast.

Prior to Chongqing's formation as a direct-controlled municipality, Wanzhou was part of Sichuan province.

Due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, 47% of Wanzhou's old urban area was submerged and had to be relocated.

The migration development area included the counties formerly in Wanxian City, except Liangping and Chengkou, which were administered by Chongqing directly.

Wanzhou spans 30°24′−31°14′ N latitude and 107°55′−108°53′ E longitude, and is situated at the eastern edge of the Sichuan Basin.

[2] Bordering county-level divisions: Similar to the city proper of Chongqing, Wanzhou has a monsoon-humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) with short, mild winters, and very hot, humid summers, and is in fact on average 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) warmer during the day.

The 4 primary subdivisions were 3 migration development areas (Longbao, Tiancheng, Wuqiao) and Jiangnan New District (江南新区).