Barabanki district is one of the five districts of Ayodhya division in the central Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Barabanki city is the administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. Total area of Barabanki district is 3891.5 Sq. km. It borders seven other districts of Uttar Pradesh. With its most northern point it shares borders with the Sitapur district, while its north-eastern boundary is defined by the Ghagra, beyond which lie the districts of Bahraich district and Gonda district. Its eastern border is shared with Ayodhya district, and the Gomti forms a natural boundary to the south, dividing it from the Amethi district. On the west, it adjoins the Lucknow district.

It has a population of 2,673,581, with a population density of 686.50 per square kilometre (1,778.0/sq mi).

Barabanki district is situated between 27°19′ and 26°30′ north latitude, and 80°05′ and 81°51′ east longitude; it runs in a south-easterly direction, confined by the nearly parallel streams of the Ghaghara and Gomti. The extreme length of the district from east to west may be taken at 92 km (57 mi), and the extreme breadth at 93 km (58 mi); the total area is about 3,900 km² (1,504 sq mi).

In 1856, the district came, with the rest of Oudh State, under British rule. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the whole of the Barabanki talukdars joined the mutineers, but offered no serious resistance following the capture of Lucknow.

Barabanki district stretches out in a level plain interspersed with numerous lakes and marshes. In the upper part of the district the soil is sandy, while in the lower part it is clay and produces finer crops. The district is fed by the rivers Ghaghra (forming the northern boundary), Gomti (flowing through the middle of the district), Kalyani and Rait and their tributaries, for the major part of the year. Some rivers dry out in the summer, and become flooded during the rainy season. The changing course of the river Ghagra alters the land area of the district.

The principal crops are rice, wheat, pulse and other food grains and sugarcane. Both of the bordering rivers of Barabanki are navigable. The district is traversed by two lines of the Northern Railway and North-Eastern Railway, with branches having total length of 131 km (81 mi). The district roadways include connections to National Highway 28, state highways and various link roads.

The area was once known as Jasnaul, from Jas, a Raja of the Bhar tribe, who is said to have founded it before 1000 AD. Following the Muslim conquest, the lands were divided into twelve, with the new owners quarrelling so incessantly that they were called the Barah Banke, or twelve quarrelsome men. Banka, in Awadhi, means a bully or brave. Others derive the name from ban, meaning wood or jungle, and interpret Barabanki as the twelve shares of jungle.

The current Barabanki district was first established by the British upon their annexation of Oudh State in 1856. Originally, the district was known as Daryabad district because its headquarters were at Daryabad, but in 1859 they were relocated to Barabanki. The name "Barabanki" was chosen for the district's official name over "Nawabganj", then the more common name of the town, for two reasons: first, to avoid any possible confusion with other places called Nawabganj, and second, because the civil station was technically located outside of Nawabganj in the small revenue village of Barabanki. Previously, under the Nawabs of Awadh, the area that would become Barabanki district was divided between five chaklas: Daryabad-Rudauli, Ramnagar, Dewa-Jahangirabad Raj, Jagdispur, and Haidargarh.