As a district of Zhoushan city, Putuo is composed of 455 islands, among which 32 are inhabited. The name of the district is very closely related to nearby Putuo Island, one of China's four famous Buddhist sites The name Putuo means “beautiful white flower” in the Avatamsaka Sutra of Buddhism. There are four towns, three townships and five sub-district offices in the district. The People's Government of Putuo District is located at Shenjiamen subdistrict. The total population of Putuo is 31,9000. The district covers an area of 6269.4 sq. km, among which 6269.4 sq. km are sea area and 458.6 sq. km are land area. The total coastline amounts to 831.43 km. The district has a large marine territory but small land area.

The district is in the Yangtze River Delta economic area. It is regarded as the centre of Zhoushan fishing ground. With such neigbouring cities as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo, Putuo faces Keelung in Taiwan, Nagasaki in Janpan and Inchon in Korea. Known for its rich natural resources, developed fishery industry, excellent harbors, beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, Putuo is called the east-sea pearl.
Putuo belongs to semi-tropical monsoon marine climate. It is warm and humid, cool in summer and warm in winter with sufficient sunshine. The average temperature of the district is 16.1℃ all the year round. The coldest month is January with the average temperature 5.5℃. The hottest month is August with the average temperature 26.9℃.