Dongxiang Autonomous County is located in the southwest of central Gansu Province and the east of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, between 103 ° 10 ′ - 44 ′ E and 35 ° 30 ′ - 36 ′ N. Lintao River is adjacent to Dingxi City in the east, Guanghe County and Hezheng County in the south, Daxia River and Linxia City and Linxia County in the west, and Yongjing County across the Yellow River in the north. The total area of the county is 1510 square kilometers. According to the data of the seventh population census, as of 0:00 on November 1, 2020, the permanent population of Dongxiang Autonomous County was 290034.

Historically, Dongxiang has no county system and is under the jurisdiction of Hezhou. Dongxiang was liberated on August 22, 1949. In October 1950, according to the policy of regional ethnic autonomy, Dongxiang Autonomous Region, equivalent to the county level, was established. In 1955, according to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, it was officially named Dongxiang Autonomous County. On September 25, 2018, it was awarded the honorary title of "2018 Comprehensive Demonstration County of E-commerce in Rural Areas" by the Ministry of Commerce. On the morning of November 21, 2020, the Information Office of the Gansu Provincial Government held a press conference to announce that Dongxiang Autonomous County would withdraw from the poverty county sequence.

In 2020, Dongxiang Autonomous County is expected to achieve a GDP of 3.467 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6%, fixed asset investment of 2.771 billion yuan, an increase of 108.8%, general public budget income of 110 million yuan, an increase of 16.7%, per capita disposable income of rural residents of 6662 yuan, an increase of 12.8%, and per capita disposable income of urban residents of 23462 yuan, an increase of 10.9%.