Satara district, a part of Pune division is a district of Maharashtra state with its administrative headquarters located at Satara city. On the basis of historical inscriptions of 200 BCE, it has been proved that earlier the Satara district in Maharashtra is popularly known as Karad or Karhakada. Some of the natives of the district believe that the Pandavas stayed in the place Wai in their 13th year of exile and later the place was renamed as 'Viratnagari'. Satara district is associated with the proud history of the oldest Rashtrakuta. It is also believe that the oldest Rashtrakutas were belonged to the ancient Kuntala in the valley of river Krishna. From the period 350-375 C.E. a ruler named Manank ruled the region and during that period he built his capital in "Manpur" (present day’s Maan in Satara district). Then a battle took place between the Vakatakas of Vidarbha, other Rashtrakuta rulers and Manank. After sometime the empire of Chandragupta II, popularly known as Mahendraditya Kumargupta I was extended as far as the Satara district in Deccan. In the year 1296 the place, Deccan was invaded by the Muslim rulers for the first time. Later the dynasty of Nizam Shahi came to an end in 1636. In the year 1663 Shivaji occupied both the Parali and the Satara fort. After the death of Shivaji, the Satara fort was conquered by Aurangzeb and then Parshuram Pratinidhi in 1706. Moreover, in 1708 Chattrapati Shahu was crowned within the Satara fort. In 1818 British won the Third Anglo-Maratha War, then the British Empire occupied most of the Maratha territory to the Bombay Presidency, but they restored Raja Pratap Singh, as the titular and appointed him as the ruler of Satara, which area was much larger than the present one. After sometime due to some political plans, Pratap Singh was removed from his position in 1839, and his brother, Raja Shahaji was placed in his place. The British government annexed Satara in 1848 when its prince died without a male heir and the British merged it to the Bombay Presidency.

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, an eminent Indian athlete who won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki was born on 15th January, 1926 at Satara city. He was one of the first athletes from India who has won a medal in Olympics.

Geographically, the district lies at 17°69'N latitude, 74°00'E longitude and 742 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 12.20% forest area of total geographical area. The district encompasses a geographical area of 10,480 sq km. and in terms of geographical area it occupies the ranks of 13th in the state and 58th in India. It is bounded by Pune district on the North, Raigad district on the North West, Sangli district on the South, Solapur district on the East and Ratnagiri district on the West. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 1372.1 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district is divided into 4 subdivisions namely Satara, Wai, Karad and Phaltan. Moreover, it comprises 11 sub-districts, 22 towns and 1,719 villages. The administrative language in the district is Marathi.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 30,03,741 out of which 15,10,842 are males and 14,92,899 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 988 females for every 1000 males). In the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was 6.93% including 7.28% were males and 6.58% were females. The population density in the district is 287 persons per sq. km. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 44,414 out of which 23,120 were males and 21,293 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 22,037 out of which 12,790 were males and 9,246 were females. As per 2011 census the major religion in the district is Hindu with 89.62% of the total population. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Marathi with 93.05%.

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of the district. Most of the lands in the district are use for agricultural purposes. More than half of its population are engaged in agricultural activities in order to earn their livelihood. The chief agricultural products in the district are wheat, rice, gram, sugarcane, groundnut, potato, soybean, etc. The adoption of the new agricultural technologies amongst the famers of the district helps to increase the production of various agricultural items. Every year a huge chunk of revenue comes from the agricultural products in the district help in its economy to a great extent. The district is scantily industrialised since it has only a few industries and mills of sugar, spinning, engineering, etc. In the year 2020-21 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 61,24,100 lakhs at current price and Rs. 42,37,800 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The net domestic product in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 54,81,500 lakh at current price and Rs. 37,58,100 lakh at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 1,70,206 at current price and Rs. 1,16,695 at constant prices in the year 2011-2012.

The district is well known as an abode of several reputed educational institutions. It provides a platform for higher education. Some of its recognised educational institutions are Sainik School, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College of Engineering and Polytechnic, Podar International School, Anna Saheb Kalyani Vidhlaya, Maharaja Sayajirao Vidhlaya, etc. As per 2011 census the literacy rate in the district is 82.87% including 89.42% are males and 76.31% are females.

Laxmanrao Pandurang Jadhav, aveteran Indian politician and a member of the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha from the Satara constituency of Maharashtra was born on 25th February, 1938 at Bopegaon village in the Satara district. He is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) political party.

The district has several centres of attraction which allures many travellers from different parts of the country as well as world. Ajinkyatara fort is a fort on one of the seven mountains surrounding Satara city in the Sahayadri Mountains of Maharashtra, India. It was constructed in the 16th Century and the term Ajinkyatara means "The Impregnable Star". Sajjangad, located near the city of Satara, India is the final resting place of Sant Ramdas in the 17th century. For this very reason the place Sajjangad is popularly known as “Fort of Good People”. Some other places of interest in the district are Char Bhinti Hutatma Smarak, Natraj Mandir, Sangam Mahuli and many more.