The district of Thoubal, which occupies the bigger portion of the eastern half of the Manipur Valley, takes the shape of an irregular and triangular with its base facing north. It lies between 24°30’24.688″ N to 24°43’16.689″ N latitude and 93°53’17.016″ E to 93°53’18.118″ E longitude. It is bounded on the north by Imphal West and Imphal East district, on the east by Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts, on the south by Kakching and Tengnoupal districts . Its average elevation is not very much different from the rest of the Manipur Valley which is about 790 metres on an average above the sea level. Although the district is a part of the valley, the area of the district is not entirely plain. Many rivers flow through the district and many lakes dot its surface. Some of the which are closely inter-twined with many folk tales and stories, of which mention may be made of the fishing and other episodes of the love story of the legendary Khamba-Thoibi. In fact, all important lakes of Manipur, with the exception of Loktak, are in this district. The State of Manipur used to supplement its meager resources from the annual lease of the lakes in the past.
Although little is known about its ancient history, the district has in recent past, seen many bloody and disgraceful battles. Through the district pass an international road that leads to Myanmar (Burma) via Moreh and Tammu and this road is, in the days before the independence of India, the route of many military expeditions and counter-expeditions by the forces of Manipur and Burma, and later on, by that of the British Government. It is in this district, at Khongjom, that the last battle of the independence of Manipur was fought in April, 1891 by a few and poor-equipped soldiers of Manipur against the mighty the British empire. It is not just an irony of the fate that Major Paona Brajabashi and others met their last days in this battle. The battle symbolizes the honourable deed of a heroic sacrifice for his motherland, knowing fully well that the fight would mean sure defeat.
Among the natural calamities that had occurred in the past, mention may be made of the serious cholera epidemics of 1931 which took a heavy toll of the district population. Although the epidemic was widely spread throughout the Manipur valley it was just felt in the district.
The district came into existence in May, 1983 through a notification of the Government of Manipur, ( Secretariat :Revenue Department Order No.6/1/73-R ( Pt.VII) dated May 24, 1983) ( Manipur Extraordinary Gazette No. 76 of the same date) under the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act.1960. By the said notification, Thoubal sub-division of the erstwhile Manipur Central District with all its administrative units was transferred to form a new district under the name of Thoubal with its head-quarters at Thoubal.
The district has three community development blocks namely (1)Lilong (2)Thoubal and (3) Wangjing Tentha It has 6 main towns. namely, Lilong ( Thoubal ), Thoubal,Yairipok, Shikhong Sekmai, Wangjing Lamding, and Heirok are municipalities under Thoubal District.