Historically, Nayagarh district emerged around the 13th century by the King Suryamani of the Baghela dynasty, came to Puri on a pilgrimage from “Rewa”of Madhya Pradesh. He had built his fort here and adopted Tiger Head as a state symbol. Savaras and Kandhas are the natives of the region after the Aryans came into this place. This region was opted by Bagel Singh (1480-1510) as the capital of its empire and then it was named as Baghua Nayagarh after his name. Nayagarh was ruled over by Harihar Singh after the death of his father, the 12th king of Nayagarh Raghunath Singh. At that time, Nayagarh district was a cluster of princely states. Prior to his death, the King Ragunath Singh divided his estate between his two sons. Likewise, Harihar Singh got Nayagarh and Jadunath Singh got four Khandagrams (large area of land), later which were together known as Khandapara. It was his heirs from here on that ruled Nayagarh district until it was occupied by the Britishers.

Trilochan Pradhan, is an Indian scientist and the founding director of Institute of Physics in Bhubaneswar. He also served as the head of the Theoretical Nuclear Physics Division at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics from 1964-74 and as the vice chancellor of Utkal University from 1989-91. He won the Kalinga Prize in 2014. He was honored with the Padma Bhushan in the year of 1990 and Meghnad Shah Award in the year of 1980. Pitobash Tripathy is a film actor in Bollywood. He has performed in I Am Kalam and Shor in the City. He won Odisha Youth Inspiration Award in 2012, Screen Best Actor Award in a Comic Role Award for Shor in the City in 2012 and received National Bal Shree Honour in 1996 from President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma in creative performance.

Geographically, the district has a total 3,890 sq kms. area and occupies the rank 25th in State and 310th in India on the bases of this size. It lies at 20°13' N latitude, 85°11' E longitude and 18 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 44.08% forest area of total geographical area. It is bounded by Angul district, Boudh district and Cuttack district in the North, Khurda district in the South and East, Ganjam district in the South West and Kandhamal district in the West. The climate of the district is extremely hot in the summers and fairly cold in the winters. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 1610.9 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district is divided into 12 sub-districts, 9 towns and 1,692 villages. Oriya is its official language. It came into existence on the 1st April, 1993 with its administrative headquarters located at Nayagarh which is situated at a distance of 85 kms. from the State Capital.

Demographically, according to the 2011 census, the district has a total number of 2,30,968 households with a total population of 9,62,789 comprising 5,02,636 are males and 4,60,153 are females which leads it to rank 22nd in the State and 453rd in India. The density of population of the district is 248 (persons per sq kms.). The sex ratio is pegged at 915 (females per 1000 males) while the child ratio stands at 855 (females per 1000 males). As per 2011 census the major religion in the district is Hindu with 99.27% of the total population. The population growth rate during the period of 2001-2011 was 11.37% including 12.65% were males and 10.00% were females. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Oriya with 99.09%. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 11,838 out of which 6,536 were males and 5,302 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 7,433 out of which 4,253 were males and 3,180 were females.

Economically, the district is dependent on industries primarily. In the year 2011-12 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 2,78,015 lakhs at current price and Rs. 1,76,345 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2004-2005. The net domestic product in the district during the period 2011-12 was Rs. 2,54,922 lakh at current price and Rs. 1,59,975 lakh at constant prices in the year 2004-2005. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2011-12 was Rs. 26,351 at current price and Rs. 16,536 at constant prices in the year 2004-2005. Paddy, green gram, black gram, sesame, sugarcane, mango, tomato, cauliflower, lady’s finger, coconut, cashew are mainly grown in the district. Brass and bell utensils, sugar factory, leather works are main industries here.

Education wise, according to the 2011 census, the literacy rate in the district is 80.42% out of which 88.16% are males and 72.05% are females. The total literate population of the district is 6,88,362 including 3,92,333 are males and 2,96,029 are females. Nayagarh Autonomous College, Brajendra High School, DAV Public School, Maharishi Vidya Mandir, N.A.C. High School, Saraswati Vidya Mandir, etc are some of the prominent educational institutes in the district.

Hemendra Chandra Singh is a member of Biju Janata Dal at present. In 2014, he was elected as a member of the 16th Lok Sabha from the Kandhamal constituency in the district.

The district has many famous historical and religious places to visit. These places are Baisipalli Sanctuary, Baramul, Dasapalla, Kuturi, Gokulananda Temple, Jamupatana, Kantilo, Kuanria, Nayagarh, Odagaon, Panchupalli Pargana, Ranapur, Sarankul, Satakosia Gorge Sanctuary, Udayapur Library. In the year of 2019, there were total 19,09,153 domestic tourists who visited here.