The region of Irkutsk is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia in the upper basins of the Lower (Nizhnyaya) Tunguska, Angara, and Lena rivers.

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Lake Baikal is located in the southeastern part of the region. Irkutsk Region has a total area of 775 000klm (4.6% of the RF) and extends 1,500klm from west to east and 1,400klm from north to south. It is located in the very center of the continent and borders on the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the northeast, the region of Chita, the Buryat Republic in the east and south, Krasnoyarsk Territory in the northeast, and the Republic of Tuva in the southwest. It is part of the East Siberian economic district.
Most of the region of Irkutsk is situated on the southeastern part of the Central Siberian Plateau surrounded by the Eastern Sayan Mountains and the mountain ranges west of Lake Baikal (Pribaikalye). High levels of seismic activity have been recorded in the eastern part of the region. Two-thirds of the region is located at elevations of more than 500m above sea level.

Irkutsk Region has a population of 2,804,500 people. It includes 33 districts, 22 cities, and 59 towns. The city of Irkutsk (pop. 594,500) is the region's administrative center.

Large cities with a population of more than 100,000 include Angarsk (267,000), Bratsk (253 600), Usolye-Sibirskoe (104 300), and Ust-Ilimsk (107 200). Cities with populations of 50,000 to 100,000 include Cheremkhovo, Ust-Kut, Tulun, and Shelekhov. There are also 13 cities with populations of up to 50,000 and 59 towns.

Lake Baikal is unique with a volume of 23,000klm or 20% of the world's freshwater reserves, a surface area of 31,500klm and a maximum depth of 1,637m. The region's river network belongs to the basin of two of Siberia’s largest rivers, Lena and Yenisei.

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The region's great extent and rugged relief are the reasons for the varied climatic conditions. Temperatures consistently remain below 0°c for 160 to 180 days of the year. Winters are cold (January temperatures range from -17°c to -33°c). Summers are hot and dry in the first half (July temperatures range from +17°c to +33°c) and rainy in the second half.

Irkutsk Region has abundant mineral resources. Some of the country's largest mineral-bearing areas are located here, including the Lenskaya (gold), Mamsko-Chuiskaya (mica), Angarskaya (iron ore), Vostochno-Sayanskaya (rare metals) provinces and the Irkutsk coal basin. The Vostochno-Sibirsky saliferous (salt-bearing) basin is the largest in the world. About 11 tons of gold per year are produced in the region.

The most important mineral resources are hydrocarbons, gold, mica, iron, brown and bituminous coal, and table salt. The region also has abundant deposits of nonmetallic raw materials for ferrous metallurgy.

Irkutsk Region is one of the most economically developed areas in the eastern part of the country. The leading industrial sectors are mining, the power industry, aluminum smelting, petrochemicals, engineering, and building materials. The forest, woodworking, and pulp and paper industries are currently undergoing intensive development.