Yiyang, a prefecture-level city under the administration of Hunan Province, is located in the central and northern part of Hunan Province, on the south bank of Dongting Lake, in the northern section of Xuefeng Mountain and its surrounding belt. Yiyang is an important member of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, one of the core cities of Dongting Lake Ecological Economic Zone, and one of the Chang-Zhu-tan 3+5 urban agglomeration. It has won the titles of Provincial Garden City, China Outstanding Green Ecological City, National Forest City, National Health City, National Civilized City Nominee City, Hunan Historical and Cultural City and so on. Since ancient times, it has been the rich "Land of fish and rice" in Jiangnan.

Yiyang Municipality has jurisdiction over 7 districts, counties (cities) of Heshan District, Ziyang District, Anhua County, Taojiang County, Nanxian County, Yuanjiang City, Datong Lake Management District and national Yiyang High-tech Industrial Development Zone. According to the seventh census data, Yiyang City's permanent population is 3,851,564.

Yiyang's geographical coordinates are 27°58'38 "to 29°31'42" north latitude, 110°43'02 "to 112°55'48" east longitude, the longest east-west distance of 217 kilometers, the widest north-south distance of 173 kilometers, from the map, like a lion looking to the east, crouching to the ground to the north of Hunan. It borders Shishou City of Hubei Province in the north, Changde City and Huaihua City in the west and southwest, Loudi City in the south, Yueyang City and the provincial capital Changsha City in the east and southeast. On January 29, 2021, it was selected into the list of regions with remarkable achievements in 2020 published by Hunan Provincial People's Government.