Lingshui Li Autonomous County is located in the southeast of Hainan Island. Its geographical coordinates are 18°22 '~ 18°47' north latitude and 109°45 '~ 110°08' east longitude. It borders the South China Sea in the east, Sanya City in the south, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County in the west, and Wanning City and Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County in the north. Lingshui County is a city and county where the Li, Han and Miao populations are the majority. According to the seventh census, as of midnight on November 1, 2020, the permanent population of Lingshui Li Autonomous County was 372,511.

Lingshui County was first established in 610 AD (the sixth year of Sui Daye), and Lingshui Li Autonomous County was founded on December 31, 1987. Lingshui County is 40 kilometers long from north to south and 32 kilometers wide from east to west. The total area is 1107.53 square kilometers. Haiyu East Line highway and East line expressway pass through Lingshui County, 197 km away from Haikou in the north, 65 km away from Sanya in the south. As of 2016, it has jurisdiction over 11 townships, 116 administrative villages, 1 township farm, 585 natural villages and 1160 villagers' groups. There are 2 state-owned farms in Nanping and Lingmen and the provincial Forestry Bureau of Siluo Mountain.

In December 2018, Lingshui Li Autonomous County was approved to build a national Marine economy development demonstration zone. In July 2020, the National Association of Health Care decided to name Lingshui Li Autonomous County as the 2017-2019 National Health County.

In 2020, the GDP of Lingshui Li Autonomous County reached 19.552 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 3.5%, ranking the third in the province. The investment in fixed assets reached 14.608 billion yuan, up 2.2 percent year on year, and the growth rate turned negative to positive for the first time since 2018. Revenue in local governments' general public budgets totaled 3.38 billion yuan. Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3.39 billion yuan. Total tourism revenue was 3.985 billion yuan, up 1.3 percent year on year. The per capita disposable income of urban residents was 33,602 yuan, up 3.6 percent year on year, ranking sixth in the province. The per capita disposable income of rural residents was 15,406 yuan, up 8.1 percent year on year, ranking fifth in the province.