Visakhapatnam district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, headquartered at Visakhapatnam. It is one of the twenty-six districts in Andhra Pradesh state. The district shares borders with Vizianagaram district in North and South-East and with Anakapalli district in the south-west and Bay of Bengal in the south respectively.

During the British rule in India, Visakhapatnam emerged as a district in the year 1802. Chicacole (present-day Srikakulam) which was in Visakhapatnam district was incorporated into Ganjam when the latter was formed as a district. On 1 April 1936, Bihar and Orissa Province was split to form Bihar Province and Orissa Province. Parts of the Vizagapatam district (i.e., Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Koraput, Jeypore, Rayagada etc.) and the Ganjam district (excluding Chicacole division) of Madras Presidency were transferred to Orissa Province along with portions of the Vizagapatam Hill Tracts Agency and Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency. The Chicacole division (i.e., Ichchapuram, Palasa, Tekkali, Pathapatnam and Srikakulam) was merged with Visakhapatnam district.

Later, in 1950, Srikakulam district was carved out from the erstwhile Visakhapatnam district. In 1979, part of the district was split to form Vizianagaram district. Visakhapatnam district is currently a part of the Red corridor.

On 3 April 2022, Government of Andhra Pradesh created 13 new districts in the state, hence the district was once again divided into three i.e., Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju districts. This made Vizag the only district with 90% urban population in AP.

There are two parliamentary and seven assembly constituencies in Visakhapatnam district. The parliamentary constituencies are

• Anakapalli (Lok Sabha constituency)

The assembly constituencies are

The district is divided into two revenue divisions: Bheemunipatnam and Visakhapatnam, which are further subdivided into a total of eleven mandals, each headed by a sub-collector.