It is in the northeastern part of Inner Mongolia, in the southeastern foothills of the Greater Khingan mountains, bordering Heilongjiang province to the east.

[citation needed] Zalantun was formerly known as Butha (布特哈; Bùtèhā), and the city was made into an administrative centre in the Kangxi era.

Zalantun has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa/Dwb), with long frigid winters, very warm summers, and short transitional seasons.

Typifying the influence of the East Asian Monsoon, on average, a majority of the annual 501 millimetres (19.7 in) of precipitation falls in July and August alone.

It is rich in food grains, particularly wheat, soy and corn, as well as cattle, sheep, horse and other livestock.